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Size Guide

3.5
3.5" Perennial
3 or more $6.00 ea
Regularly: $6.99 ea

Rock Cress Aubretia

Scott's Nursery Ltd.

$3.50
Title
Drape your stone walls and rock borders in a breathtaking, cascading waterfall of royal colour. Aubrieta deltoidea forms an ultra-low, hugging cushion of gray-green foliage that completely disappears beneath an impossibly dense, vibrant blanket of four-petaled flowers. This early-spring phenomenon spills effortlessly over rock crevices, hugs garden pathways, and hugs slopes in a high-definition mosaic of jewel tones that dramatically awakens the landscape from its winter sleep.

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Plant Details

Mature Size:

4" - 6" H x 12" - 24" W

Zone:

4-9

Watering:

Low

Type:

Herbaceous Perennial Groundcover

Growth Rate:

Moderate - Fast

Light:

Full Sun

Plant Profile

Common Names:

Rock Cress, Purple Rock Cress, Lilacbush, and False Wallcress

Scientific Name:

Aubrieta deltoidea

Type:

Trailing Groundcover / Spiller / Rock Garden Accent

Growth Details:

Mature Size: 4" - 6" H x 12" - 24" W

Growth Habit: Creeping, spreading, and mat-forming.

Form: Low, dense, trailing carpets.

Growth Rate: Medium to fast.

Flowering Time: Early to mid-spring (typically April to June).

Flower Colour: Available across cultivars in highly saturated shades of rich violet, deep purple, magenta, lavender, and rose-pink.

Environmental Needs:

Exposure: Full Sun (Accepts light afternoon shade in exceptionally hot summer climates).

Soil Preferences: Prefers poor, gritty, sandy, or rocky soils with a neutral to slightly alkaline pH.

Soil Tolerance: Highly tolerant of infertile, low-nutrient, or lime-rich soils, provided moisture drains away instantly.

Watering: Provide steady, light watering during its first season; highly drought-resistant once the roots lock into rock crevices.

Container Role: Functions as an elite, cascading Spiller along the outer rims of stone troughs, rock-facing walls, and patio pots.

Special Features:

  • Wall Cascader: Specially adapted to thrive with minimal soil in the vertical faces of dry-stacked stone or brick walls.
  • Drought & Heat Resistant: Rugged alpine roots handle sun-baked, rocky environments and short summer dry spells with zero wilting.
  • Deer & Rabbit Resistance: The slightly hairy, bitter leaves are naturally unpalatable and highly resistant to foraging deer and rabbits.
  • Attracts: A vital, high-traffic early-season nectar station for emerging native honeybees, solitary bees, and butterflies.
Care Guide

Ornamental & Landscape Value

Seasonal Interest:

Bloom Information: Mass spectacle of highly showy, small, four-petaled flowers that open progressively and mask the entire plant for several weeks.

Perennial and Annual Interest: Wakes up incredibly early in the spring with a rapid, heavy burst of rich colour. It maintains its tight, neat gray-green cushion all summer long, and in mild winter regions, the foliage remains semi-evergreen to keep the winter garden floor looking structured.

Garden Value:

Ornamental Interest: Offers an intense, solid sheet of early-season colour contrasted beautifully against low, mat-forming, scalloped gray-green leaves.

Landscaping Uses: Exceptional choice for rock gardens, stone wall crevices, tucking between stepping stones, steep sunny slopes, and framing walkway edgings.

Wildlife & Human Value:

  • Wildlife Value: Supplies crucial, easily accessible early-season nectar rewards for native pollinators emerging from winter hibernation.
  • Human Value: Solves the difficult design challenge of planting vertical stone walls, eliminates seasonal mulching costs, and provides exceptional, high-contrast curb appeal.

Planting & Care Guide

Planting Considerations:

Best Time To Plant: Plant out young starts early in the spring or in early autumn to establish roots in cool, accommodating weather.

Spacing: Space individual plugs 12" to 15" apart to allow them to fuse cleanly into a solid, weed-suppressing ribbon of colour.

Location Tips: Select elevated areas, slopes, or dry-stacked stone walls where gravity clears excess rainwater; avoid heavy clay low spots.

Companion Plants: Pairs magnificently with stark white Candytuft, golden Basket-of-Gold, or early-blooming Tulips.

Care:

Light Requirements: Thrives best in absolute full sun; needs at least 6 hours of direct daily sunlight to maximize bloom density and prevent leggy growth.

Moisture Requirements: Requires sharp, fast internal drainage; prefers dry to evenly moist conditions and rots quickly in heavy, pooling water.

Maintenance: Shear the entire plant back tightly by half immediately after the spring flowering period ends to force fresh, compact foliage and prevent a woody center.

Fertilization: Avoid rich plant foods; apply a very light top-dressing of compost or a minimal slow-release granular fertilizer in early spring.

Tolerances:

Tolerates severe drought, rocky or poor soils, alkaline conditions, light foot traffic, deer, and rabbits.

Tips For Success:

The Post-Bloom Haircut: Never skip shearing it back after flowering; this forces fresh new green shoots from the base and keeps the cushion tight and lush.

Provide Gritty Soil: If your garden soil is heavy, dig in plenty of coarse sand, fine gravel, or chicken grit to ensure water drains away rapidly.

No Heavy Mulching: Avoid piling thick organic wood mulch directly on top of or against the trailing stems to keep them free from crown rot.

Fruit Profile