Description

Arenaria – Sandwort

There are about 160 species of annuals or low growing perennials that may become shrubby like, with age, in this genus.  They occur from mountainous, arctic and temperate region of the Northern Hemisphere with a few from the Southern hemisphere.  These are a somewhat evergreen plants, which bears deep green or gray-green opposite pairs of small, linear to ovate leaves.  They bear solitary or few-flowered small cluster of 5 petalled usually white flowers.  Great plant for a rock garden, alpine house, or in scree bed or for growing in crevices.

There frost hardy plants are easily grown in moist well-drained, sandy poor soil in full sun.  Divide in spring.

Prone to rust and anther smut occur.

Arenaria tetraquetra – This species from the Pyrenees and the mountains of Spain forms a dense cushion up to 1-2” tall and spreads to 6-8” wide.  This evergreen perennial produces tiny ovate, overlapping, gray-green leaves up to 1/8” long.  In spring it’s profusely dotted with solitary very short stemmed star shaped white flowers up to ½” wide.

Zones 5-8