Characteristics and advice for the care and cultivation of Alyssum

The rich and colorful flowering of Alyssum makes this plant suitable for growing in city gardens, to which you want to give a characteristic and lively touch. The herbaceous plant in jargon is called “Alisso” and is one of the most characteristic flowering plants that brings a considerable joy to our green turfs, in fact, not only creates beautiful flower bed, but if grown in large areas of land it can offer a surprising setting, because really colorful turfs and even borders to delimit some areas are formed.

Alyssum belongs to the Cruciferae family and its specialty is to have a large variety of species.

The herbaceous plant has African and European origins, but in Italy it has been widely appreciated for several years already, because it does not adapt only to garden soil but it can also abundantly grow in a pot with easy and quick cultivation and with perfect timing.

One of Alyssum’s virtues, besides the aesthetic one, is the vigorous growth which entices gardeners to cultivate it.

In a few days in those areas that previously appeared bare and without tone, will acquire a particular cheerful appearance thanks to the presence of this plant that reaches 15/30 centimeters with fragrant flowers groups in a single inflorescence and of colors that vary from purple to yellow also with varieties of white and pink. To see Alyssum grow in all its beauty, it’s preferable to grow it in areas as sunny as possible because it’s thanks to its exposure to the sun that the plant grows abundantly.

However, Alyssum it also lends itself to cultivation in semi-shady areas, but in this case, do not expect an intense blossoming because the plant will flower, but with a lower quantity of flowering shoots.

Alyssum adapts well to all temperatures but cannot handle night frost and if the plants are cultivated in a pot, during the night or days with extreme cold, you should shelter them.

The reproduction of Alyssum and its planting

The reproduction of Alyssum happens with the sowing in two ways: sowing directly the seeds in the soil in the month of May/June or in a container sheltered from adverse atmospheric temperatures in the months of February/March. Independently from the fact that the seeds are planted in the soil of the garden or in a pot, the May/June sowing will bear fruit the following spring. If instead you prefer reproducing the plant by cuttings, you must prepare a soil that is soft and mixed with sand, then prepare a cutting of about 7 centimeters to put on the ground.

Once the plant has taken root, it can be placed in its final home. For what concerns garden cultivation, it’s good to keep in mind that Alyssum can adapt to all types of soil and even to rocky places, but it’s always preferable to cultivate it in a soft and well drained soil so that we can achieve the best result possible.

Watering, fertilising and pruning

Alyssum is parassite resistant. As for the watering, Alyssum plants don’t need excessive watering, in fact, they have the privilege to live even in times of deep drought.

However, in seasons with strong heath it is best to water the crops frequently, but without ever exceeding and with room temperature water. It’s important that a liquid fertilizer is added to water, the ideal one is the one that is used generally for flowering plants.

This operation can be done monthly, whilst at the start of the summer season or in late spring, it is advisable to lay on the soil a slow-release granular fertilizer.

Luckily, Alyssum plants don’t need pruning apart manual eradication of leaves and dried flowers.

If you want to delete an entire branch it is better to use clean scissors, so that the plant won’t be damaged and won’t be infected. Alyssum blossoms in April and keeps its beautiful and fragrant flowers until the end of October and basically the garden remain in bloom during the whole summer, also because the plants are hardly affected by parasites or fungi.

However, they might be attacked by annoying mealybugs that are easily manually eradicated by passing on the leaves a sponge wet with water.

Only in the case in which parasites appear to be resistant, it is possible to resort to a chemical pesticide.

If you intend to buy seedlings of this beautiful flowering plant, to then plant it in your flower beds, make sure that the plant does not have dried or damaged parts which could be a synonym for parasites.