About
Aethionema grandiflorum is an evergreen sub-shrub that reaches a height of up to 30 cm, displaying a rounded growth form. Its leaves are narrow and exhibit a blue-green hue. The plant produces small pink flowers that cluster at the tips of the shoots, forming compact sprays. The fruit takes the form of a small, flat capsule.
About the genus
Aethionema includes annuals, evergreen perennials, and sub-shrubs, characterized by racemes of small pink or white blossoms that rise above tidy leaves.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil type
- Chalk, Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Well-drained
- Aspect
- South-facing, East-facing
- Exposure
- Exposed
- UK hardiness
- H5
Plant details
- Plant type
- Alpine Rockery, Shrubs
- Habit
- Bushy
- Foliage
- Evergreen
- Height
- 0.1-0.5 metres
- Spread
- 0.1-0.5 metres
- Time to full height
- 5-10 years
- Suggested uses
- Coastal, Gravel garden, Rock garden, Cottage and informal garden, Mediterranean climate plants
- Native to
- Iran, Iraq, Caucasus
Care notes
- Cultivation
- Grow in fertile, well-drained, alkaline soil in full sun. Will tolerate poor, acid soils although growth will be more compact
- Pruning
- No pruning required
- Propagation
- Propagate by seed sown in pots in a cold frame in spring. Propagate by rooting softwood cuttings in late spring or early summer
- Pest resistance
- May be susceptible to aphids and glasshouse red spider mite
- Disease resistance
- Generally disease-free