Alyssums are a popular, easy to grow, flowering, annual or short lived perennial, in the mustard family and typically used as an edging plant where lots of flowers are needed. The mat-forming plant produces spreading mounds of fragrant white flowers from spring to first frost where the summers are cool (blooms will decline in hot summers). The genus name comes from the Latin lobulus meaning small pod. The species name means of the sea or coastal. Alyssum does best in full sun to partial shade in well-drained soils. It will tolerate drought and dry soil and appreciates some afternoon shade. During the summer or when the blooms decline, cut back plants to keep it flowering. Leave plants in the garden over the winter. In spring, remove plants to expose lots of self-sown seedlings. For spring flowers, sow seed in the ground several weeks before the last frost date. Or start seed indoors 5 to 6 weeks before last frost date and set out seedlings or purchased plants just before last frost date. Alternatively, you can sow seed in August for fall bloom. Good for growing between walkway stones and as a filler between taller plants. Clemson University, Home and Garden Information Center, has a fact sheet on Sweet Alyssum. A number of popular cultivars are available that expand the flower color choice to include shades of pink, rose, lavender, purple and apricot. Plants with white blossoms seem to be the most fragrant with a scent of new mown hay or honey. Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: Pests and problems include environmental damage from drought or drowning or edema. They also may be affected by downy mildew, stem and crown rots. Plants may decline due to poorly drained soils. Very good soil drainage is a must if alyssum is to perform well in the garden.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 0 ft. 3 in. - 0 ft. 10 in. | Width: 0 ft. 6 in. - 1 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
5 - Groundcover (<1 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Dense; Mounding; Multi-stemmed; Spreading
Leaf color
Gray/Silver; Green
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate; Ovate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
One inch, broad, hairy, lance-shaped to oval gray-green leaves.
Flower color
Purple/Lavender; White
Flower value
Fragrant; Showy
Flower form
Raceme
Flower shape
Star
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Dense clusters of tiny four-petaled fragrant blooms in white cover the plant in spring and fall. May stop blooming in the heat of summer, but can be rejuvenated. Flowers can cover foliage mounds as to totally hide the foliage.
Bloom time
Fall; Spring; Summer
Fruit color
Cream/Tan; Gold/Yellow
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit detail
Cream-colored oval seed pods with 1 yellowish seed each. The fruits are numerous, rather hairy, oval to rounded.
Stem detail
Mat-forming plant that produces spreading mounds of branching stems.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Southern Europe, west and central Mediterranean.
Distribution
Introduced to west and east coast of United States, west coast of South America, Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia.
Wildlife value
Beetles, butterflies, and skippers feed off the plant.