Saxifraga x anglica ‘Cranbourne’
As Christmas becomes a distant memory there is one little star that shines bright in the Alpine House at Harlow Carr and that is Saxifraga x anglica 'Cranbourne'. With it’s beautiful baby pink flowers and its leaves clustered in rosettes, what more do you need to make you smile on a spring day?
Vital statistics
- Common name
- Saxifrage
- Family
- Saxifragaceae
- Height & spread
- 2.5 x 20cm (1 x 8in)
- Form
- Evergreen perennial alpine plant
- Soil
- Low nutrient, well-drained
- Aspect
- Prefers partial shade
- Hardiness
- Hardy throughout the British Isles
Saxifraga
Saxifraga is a genus of about 440 species of mostly mat-forming or cushion-forming, evergreen, semi-evergreen or deciduous perennials, biennials and a few annuals, mostly from mountains in the Northern Hemisphere.
Varying greatly in habit and leaf form, they produce flat, star-shaped, or shallowly cup-shaped flower, either singly or in cymes, racemes or panicles.
The rosettes of monocarpic saxifrages are suitable for rock gardens, mixed borders and woodland gardens.
Saxifraga x anglica ‘Cranbourne’
'Cranbourne' has linear, grey-green leaves and from early spring, bears solitary, almost stemless, deep rose-pink flowers. This little gem is ideal for troughs, or rocky niches in the garden.
Cultivation
- Suitable for a rock garden or trough.
- Grow in moderately fertile, very well-drained, neutral to slightly alkaline soil.
- Tolerant of full sun in cool areas, but protect from sun in hot areas to prevent leaf scorch.
Propagation
- Sow seed in autumn in containers in an open frame.
- Detach individual rosettes and root as cuttings in late spring or early summer.
AGM
Saxifraga x anglica 'Cranborne' was given the Award of Garden Merit in 1993 and was described as:
"Dense, cushion-forming evergreen perennial to 3cm tall, with tiny narrow grey-green leaves and solitary deep rose-pink flowers 2cm wide."