perennial > AUBRIETA
IN THIS GUIDE
AUBRIETA GUIDES
Aubrieta is a no - care evergreen ground cover that easy spread over job spotlight , tumbles out of cranny and crevices , work a cushy unripened mat and produces a cover of brilliant color during natural spring .
It is a first - pace alternative for groundcover , rockeries , edging , planter fellow traveller , crannies and crevices and can even be raise in a hole in a wall !
arise only up to 10 cm with a spread head of 3 - 4 times its height , this lowly to no - maintenance evergreen plant is a great ‘ plant - and - blank out ’ choice to fill up bare spots and inhospitable patches with year - round leafage of a coolheaded green shade .
A.‘Doctor Mules’
Overview
PreferredFull Sun
ExposureExposed / shelter
Height0 – 0.1 yard
A.‘Kitte’
Spread0.1 – 0.3 M
Bloom TimeMarch to May
PreferredMost fecund soil
MoistureWell - drain
pHNeutral to Alkaline
There ’s also that brilliant floral colour from mid - fountain through to mid - summertime .
These lustrelessness - make evergreens push up oodles of gay trivial flower in about the middle of spring .
They can bloom in such profusion that , in the flowering season , a bank of Aubrietas will transubstantiate from a gym mat of green to a lustrelessness of vivid colour .
The flowers are open and disk - shaped with four petal , and commonly occur in tones of purpleness and pink , with whitened , cream and crimson hues less usually seen , but still available .
These little peak are a top draw poker for butterflies and bees .
Common Varieties
The bulk of Aubrieta varieties and more so the commonly - grown ones , are about 10 curium marvellous and their efflorescence are typically up to 2.5 curium across .
Below , I ’ve listed several varieties that can be source without much difficulty :
How To Grow Aubrieta
These plants can easily be grown from seed .
Although seeded player may be started indoors in tray , this is unneeded .
It is far easier tosow this sturdy perennial now outdoors , assuming you want to grow it in the open ground .
April to June is the best timeframe for sowing Aubrieta seeds alfresco .
It would be advisable to check over the atmospheric condition forecast so you’re able to sow these seeds when there will be more of a dry piece .
Before inseminate the source , till the grime with a helping hand hoe or rake .
Sprinkle the seeds and report them with a mere sprinkle of grease , or nudge the seeds partway down into the stain .
Do not cover the seeds whole , as they postulate Christ Within to germinate .
Water lightly with a lachrymation can that has been fitted with a rose wine or a sprayer , taking care not to launder off the seed .
Keep the soil moist until the seedling emerge .
Another very reliable way to raise Aubrieta , particularly if you desire a copy of the parent plant , is to take and plant semi - ripe thinning in tardy summer to former autumn .
With a hardiness valuation of H6 , Aubrieta is fully hardy .
Even Northern European winters will not impact it , as it can withstand temperatures down to -15 ° snow .
Aubrietas prefer a south or west - facing vista , but they can make do with other less favorable facet .
What is most essential is that they be sited in full Lord’s Day , which will maximise flowering and also ensure a pleasing , thickset form .
They will shinny in partial shade and will run out to thrive in full shade .
Aubrieta grows best in lime - lean soil that is crumbly and not rich that has electroneutral to slightly alkaline pH.
Therefore , a mixed loam of sand , chalk and remains with only a minuscule constitutive matter is perfect .
The soil should debilitate very well and should not rest dampish or continuously moist for long periods of clip .
Planting Out
Aubrietas are fantastic plant to cover bare spots where nothing else deserving growing will take etymon .
Such musca volitans include calcareous ground , fissure and fissure , wand and slopes , paved walkways , and hole or cavities in and on walls .
This flora grows vigorously in many topographic point and it is fairly normally seen in the UK .
Aubrietas often form an undulating matting atop walls and sometimes make a cascade vertical blanket along walls , as these unfussy , lime - sleep with plant life spring up in clumps in cracks and chap .
vernal plants and seedlings may be transplant into any of the inhospitable smudge cite above .
Simply get rid of any promiscuous stones or weeds , replete in with grunge , transpose the unseasoned plant and water it in .
“ I like to engraft aubrieta in winter - outpouring hanging baskets to give one final eruption of colour before the display is swapped for summertime plant , ” shares Master Horticulturist Peter Lickorish .
“ From these basket , after unfolding , the aubrieta can be trimmed by a third and transplanted into a small planting sac , or even the front of a boundary line . ”
Ongoing Aubrieta Care
Aubrieta is a seriously low - attention works .
Other than the simple type of pruning outlined below , you may wish well to feed install works with a very light helping of constituent fertiliser oriented to linden - loving flowering plants at the beginning of springtime .
None of this is necessary , as this flora brandish in what are unremarkably consider poor soils .
Water young plants on a regular basis but do not soak the soil entirely and be certain it drain well .
When watering mature plants , allow them to in full dry out out before watering again .
In many regions of the UK , you will not need to irrigate these plants at all during the wet season .
Established plants are drouth - tolerant , but make certain that lacrimation duty are not completely disregarded during any long stretchability of dry conditions .
Aubrieta does not need any pruning , but it might be helpful to cut it back to maintain a compact size , especially if you have grown it in a wall , cranny or rockery .
Such a cutback may be done anytime from the end of the flowering season to early fall , but not any later .
reduce back 25 - 50 % of the plant .
Aubrietas will become unkempt and straggly after three years or so , more so if positioned in partial shadiness , so this case of pruning will maintain a neat look .
In the UK , the only pests that the huge majority of Aubrieta cultivars are susceptible to are aphids and flea beetle .
Both fall in the category of a garden pain in the neck rather than any serious menace and both are passably easily controlled with biological controls and born therapeutic .
They can also buckle under to powdery mould , though this strike these plant infrequently and can be treat fairly well .
Propagating By Division
Aubrieta is not typically propagated by division because it does not spread aggressively and there is little reason to disturb the matte - take form groundcover it gradually produces .
That said , its cluster can sure be carve up and re - planted .
“ The only caution is to assure that clumps have root , ” add together Peter .
“ It is surprising how far the stems of this plant can spread from the original alkali and roots of the flora . ”
