Description
A perennial in the rock garden group, one of the classic spring "big five". It forms dense, spreading carpets 5–10 cm tall and 60 cm wide. The leaves are matt green, toothed and hairy. The pink-violet flowers, gathered in short racemes, open from April to June. The plant is suitable for rock gardens, low walls and raised beds, where it looks picturesque, forming cascading carpets.
Requirements
It grows well in any moderately fertile, free-draining soil of average moisture with an alkaline pH.
Propagation
Aubrieta is propagated by cuttings; shoots root most easily after being covered with soil. It can also be propagated by dividing the root ball.
Care
It is frost-hardy, although the shoots can be damaged by frost and late-winter sun. It can be protected effectively by covering it with conifer branches. Covering it with leaves is not advisable, as this makes the stems rot.
When plants get sick
Aubrieta is threatened by powdery mildew and downy mildew.