If you鈥檙e looking to plant with a storied past that鈥檚 had a well-known song written about it, edelweiss will check all your boxes.
My mother grew up in northeastern Italy, just over the Austrian border near the Alps, where edelweiss grow wild along steep rocky ledges. When I was a child, she told me stories about the elusive white flowers, and about local legends of young men dying after climbing and falling from the cliffs while trying to pick edelweiss for their beloveds.
I know that鈥檚 pretty dark territory for a gardening column to veer into 鈥� and probably for a child鈥檚 bedtime story, too 鈥� but the good news is you can try growing the star-shaped, velvety flowers without risking life, limb or nightmares.
Edelweiss might grow nicely in a rock garden
Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum), which translates as 鈥渘oble white鈥� from German, has some very specific requirements endemic to its native range: that drains well, low soil fertility, full sunlight and cold winter temperatures. If you can replicate those 鈥� and you likely can in the lower-humidity areas of you can grow edelweiss. The plant gives bonus points to gardeners at high elevations.
Sow seeds outdoors in late fall to 鈥� or winter chill 鈥� that they require for germination. Or plant pre-chilled seeds in early spring (the package label will tell you whether seeds have been stratified). Either way, press the seeds into the soil to ensure contact, but don鈥檛 bury them. They will sprout in spring and begin blooming in spring and summer of their second year.
Alternatively, you can purchase starter plants, if you can find them, for transplanting into the garden right after the last frost date in spring. They should bloom after planting.
Water the plants regularly throughout their first year as their roots become established. After that, they will seldom need supplemental watering.
The plants, which can survive temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit, thrive in barren, nutrient-poor soil, so don鈥檛 fertilize them unless they鈥檙e growing in a container, and even then, only minimally.
Even if you never grow edelweiss, chances are you鈥檝e made its acquaintance through by Rodgers and Hammerstein in the 1965 movie 鈥淭he Sound of Music,鈥� which cemented it into pop culture.
鈥淏lossom of snow, may you bloom and grow,鈥� the song says.
And, despite luring young men to attempt foolish feats of bravery, the tiny flower has inspired generations of gardeners, hikers and movie lovers.
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Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for The Associated Press. She publishes the Weekly Dirt 91欧美激情letter. for weekly gardening tips and advice.
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