About
Cardamine raphanifolia is a robust perennial that spreads through thick rhizomes. During early summer, it showcases clusters of four-petalled flowers that can be lilac-pink or white, rising on slender stems above a dense mat of dark green, pinnate foliage.
About the genus
Cardamine consists of herbaceous perennials characterized by their straightforward, palmately or pinnately divided foliage. In spring or summer, they produce short racemes bearing flowers with four petals, which can be white, yellow, pink, or purplish in hue.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil type
- Chalk, Clay, Loam
- Soil pH
- Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Moist but well-drained, Poorly-drained
- Aspect
- East-facing, North-facing, South-facing, West-facing
- Exposure
- Exposed, Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H7
Plant details
- Plant type
- Herbaceous Perennial
- Habit
- Clump forming
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Height
- 0.1-0.5 metres
- Spread
- 0.5-1 metres
- Time to full height
- 1 year
- Suggested uses
- Cottage and informal garden, Wildflower meadow
- Native to
- S Europe (mts)
Care notes
- Cultivation
- Grow on soils rich in organic matter that retain moisture. Sun or part-shade.
- Pruning
- No pruning required
- Propagation
- Propagate readily via rhizomes and by self-seeding. Alternatively, collect seed to sow in autumn or spring in a cold-frame or sheltered place outdoors. Mature plants can be divided after flowering
- Pest resistance
- May be susceptible to flea beetles and aphids.
- Disease resistance
- Generally disease-free