Not the plant you're looking for? Search over 300,000 plants

Alpine Rockery

Saxifraga conifera (15)

A mat-forming, summer-dormant perennial, with trailing stems tipped with tight rosettes of small, narrow grey-green leaves up to 7mm long. Upright stems to 10cm high bear clusters of white flowers in late spring, and conical-shaped resting buds remain over the summer

Save to My plants

Ultimate height

Up to 10cm

Time to ultimate height

2–5 years

Ultimate spread

0.1–0.5 metres

Chalk

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Well–drained

pH

Alkaline, Neutral

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Full sun
Partial shade

Aspect

South–facing or West–facing

Exposure

Sheltered

Hardiness
Hardiness ratings
All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets
H1a: under glass all year (>15C)
H1b: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1c: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

Botanical details

Family: Saxifragaceae
Native to GB / Ireland: No
Foliage: Evergreen
Habit: Matforming
Genus: Saxifraga can be annuals, biennials, evergreen or herbaceous perennials, mostly mat-forming in habit, with simple or palmately lobed leaves and starry or rounded flowers which may be solitary of in panicles or cymes
Name status: Correct
Horticultural Group: Saxifraga section saxifrages are mat-forming evergreen perennials with small, lobed leaves and 5-petalled white, pink, yellow or red flowers in small clusters on erect stems in late spring or early summer
Plant range: Spain

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in humus-rich, moist but very well-drained, alkaline or neutral soil, with protection from hot sun and winter wet. Ideal for a rockery, trough or alpine house

Propagation

Propagate by detaching rosettes and rooting as cuttings

Suggested planting locations and garden types

Patio and container plants
Rock garden
Low Maintenance

Pruning

No pruning required

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids, slugs, vine weevil and glasshouse red spider mite

Diseases

Generally disease-free

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.