Growing Snow Cap Arabis Flower Garden Seeds
- Taxonomy: Arabis caucasica
- Other Names: Garden Arabis, Wall Cress, Garden Rock Cress, Caucasian Rock Cress
- Seed Type: Perennial
- Sow Seeds Indoors or Outdoors: Snow Cap Arabis seeds are hardy perennials grown just as popularly indoors as they are outdoors. For earliest blooms, begin seeds indoors 4 – 6 weeks prior to the final frost, with germination occurring in 21 – 28 days with full lighting.
- Days to Flower Maturity: 2nd Year Maturity
- Hardiness Zone: 3 – 8
- Seed Planting Depth: Lightly press without covering 3 – 4 seeds into soil
- Plant Spacing: 6"
- Growth Habit: 4 – 6" tall trailing mound with a 6 – 8" spread of countless ½” blooms
- Soil Preference: Sandy, medium dry, well-drained
- Light Preference: Full sun
- Diseases/Pests/Troubleshooting: Snow Cap Arabis is known to be tolerant to some heat, drought, and poor soils once established, but must be drained sharply. Plants are susceptible to crown and root rot, rust, and powdery mildew in gardens with poorly drained soils. Arabis has no serious pests or diseases, but watch for aphids on indoor varieties.
- Color: Alpine white blooms with hardy greens
Arabis caucasicas, or more commonly known as Arabis, is native to the temperate regions of eastern Europe and the Mediterranean. The genus Arabis has grown exponentially over the last several years, with many of the "old world" varieties retaining the genus Arabis while many of the "new world" varieties have been classified in the Boechera genus.