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How to Grow Sweet Alyssum

alyssum
Sweet alyssum has always been one of my favorite annual flowers — partly because of its heavenly scent and partly because of its delicate flowers that look like mist floating in the breeze. This versatile plant is equally at home in planters and hanging baskets as it is as a ground cover, but my favorite location is a window box outside my kitchen window where its fragrance wafts through the window on cool summer breezes.

 Growing Requirements for Sweet Alyssum


Light: Alyssum prefers full sun to partial shade but is not tolerant of the hot afternoon sun.  Bright morning sun suits alyssum well. If you must plant it in an area that receives direct afternoon sun consider providing some shade during the hottest part of the day.

Soil: Plant alyssum in humus-rich, well-drained soil. For container plants, a mixture of equal parts peat moss, potting soil and perlite makes a good soil, as it provides adequate aeration, promotes drainage and prevents soil compaction.

Water: Water sweet alyssum when the soil feels dry to the touch as this plant prefers evenly-moist soil. Flowers and foliage wither and die quickly if water is withheld or the soil dries out excessively.

Fertilizer: Apply water-soluble fertilizer every 7 to 10 days, especially if you are growing alyssum in containers. Nutrients leach from the soil in containers with each watering and must be replaced to promote healthy growth.


white sweet alyssum

Common Varieties of Sweet Alyssum

The most common variety of alyssum produces tiny pure white blooms, but alyssum isn't limited to white. This attractive flower can be pink, yellow, peach and shades of purple or red. Most grow to a height of 3 to 6 inches.

"Rosie O'Day" produces a cascade of rose-colored blooms, while the "Wunderland" series produces purple, white and pink blooms.
rose sweet alyssum

Uses for Sweet Alyssum

Alyssum can be grown as a ground cover or as edging in flowerbeds, but is most often used in hanging baskets, window boxes or container gardens.

Plant seedlings near the edge of the container to allow it to cascade over the sides.

Adding alyssum to rock gardeners or topping a rock wall creates a mass of floating flowers that perfume the air.

​Plant alyssum in fragrance gardens or butterfly gardens to attract flying insects that grace the bed with movement and color.
pink and white sweet alyssum

Special Considerations

Alyssum’s blooming time depends on the specific variety you are growing and ranges from late spring to mid-summer, but alyssum tends to become scraggly during the hottest part of the summer.

​If foliage becomes dry and blooming ceases, cutting it back to 2 inches and watering it thoroughly typically revives the plant and sends out a flush of new blooms to rival the original.
Copyright © 2014 Nannette Richford



  • Home
  • Garden Thyme Blog
  • Themes
    • Butterfly Gardens
    • Moon Gardens
    • Sensory Gardens
    • All About Fairies
  • Flowers
    • Annual Flowers >
      • Alyssum
      • Cosmos
      • Geraniums
      • Marigolds
      • Morning Glories
      • Nasturtiums
      • Petunias >
        • Reviving Petunias
      • Snapdragons
      • Sunflowers
      • Sweet Peas
      • Zinnias
    • Perennial Flowers >
      • Golden Glow (Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Hortensia’)
      • Lupines
      • Purple Coneflower (Echinacea Purpurea)
    • Maine Wildflowers
  • Veggies
    • Warm Season Vegetables >
      • About Beans >
        • Growing Beans
        • Growing Pole Beans
        • How to Make a Teepee Trellis
      • About Corn >
        • Growing Corn
        • What is Baby Corn, anyway?
        • Can you grow corn in containers?
      • Cucumbers >
        • Grow a cucumber in a bottle
        • Growing Pickling Cucumbers
        • Growing cucamelons (Mexican Gherkin)
        • Why do cucumbers blossom but fail to set fruit?
        • Trellising Cucumbers
        • Making Cucumber Relish
        • Powdery Mildew on Cucumbers
      • Melons
      • Peppers >
        • Growing Peppers
      • Squash >
        • Growing Zucchini
        • Spaghetti Squash
      • Tomatoes >
        • How to Harden Off Tomato Plants
        • How (and when) to Prune Tomatoes
        • Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt) for Tomatoes
        • Blossom End Rot in Tomatoes
        • Growing Cherry Tomatoes in Hanging Baskets
        • 4 Best Tomatoes for Short Seasons - Early Tomatoes
        • 5 Early Maturing Tomatoes for Short Season Gardening
        • How to Ripen Green Tomatoes
        • How to Make Sun-Dried Tomatoes at Home
        • How to Grow a Pomato Plant
    • Cool Season Vegetables >
      • Cole Crops
      • Greens >
        • How to Grow Spinach
        • How to Grow Malabar Spinach
        • How to Grow Swiss Chard
        • Harvesting and Cooking Beet Greens
        • How to Grow Microgreens
      • Onions & Garlic >
        • How to Grow Garlic
        • How to Grow Onions
      • Peas >
        • Growing Garden (shelling) Peas
        • Growing Sugar Snap Peas
      • Potatoes >
        • How to Grow Potatoes in Containers
        • How to Grow Potatoes in Hay Bales
      • Root Crops >
        • Growing Beets
        • How to Grow Carrots
        • Turnips vs Rutabagas
  • Herbs
    • Growing Basil
    • Growing Chives
    • Growing Lavender
    • Herbal Tea Garden
    • How to Grow a Culinary Herb Garden
    • How to Grow Herbs in Sponges
    • Colonial Herb Garden - Classroom Project
    • Herbed Butter
    • Making Herbed Oils
  • Gardening Basics
    • Seed Starting Basics
    • Grafting Basics
    • Soil >
      • Starting a New Garden
      • How to Prepare Soil
      • How to Test Soil Drainage
      • What Type of Soil Do You Have
      • Soil Mix Recipe for Containers
      • How to Make Compost Tea
      • How to Use Mulch
  • Garden Pests
    • How to Control Japanese Beetles
    • How to Control Blister Beetles
    • How to Get Rid of Colorado Potato Beetles
  • Birds
    • Hummingbirds >
      • DIY Hummingbird Feeders from Recycled Bottles
      • Annuals for Hummingbird Gardens
      • Perennials for Hummingbird Gardens
    • About Birdseed
    • Choosing a Birdfeeder
  • Fiddleheads and Fairies
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • How to Marinate Roasted Vegetables