Arabis caucasica Snowball seeds

Arabis caucasica 'Snowball' is a creeping perennial derived from the Caucasian rock cress, forming a white carpet from early spring. This silver basket with a particularly compact habit forms small, evergreen cushions that become covered in countless lightly fragrant flowers from April to June. Very hardy and undemanding, it thrives in poor, stony or chalky, well-drained soil in full sun. It is an excellent perennial for rock gardens, walls, banks and borders.

Caucasian rock cress belongs to the Brassicaceae family. It is a herbaceous perennial, woody at the base, forming rosettes of leaves and prostrate stems that root where they touch the soil. Its natural range extends from the scree and limestone cliffs of the Maghreb and southeastern Europe to the mountains of western Asia and the Near East. It is found in crevices, on rocky grass and stony slopes, not far from areas of late snow.
'Snowball' (also offered under the name 'Schneeball') is a horticultural selection of German origin, obtained from Arabis alpina subsp. caucasica. It is a compact and particularly floriferous form, lower and denser than the type species. The plant develops into a cushion-forming carpet, 10 to 15cm in height and 40 to 50cm in spread. It theoretically spreads without limit. The evergreen foliage remains decorative in winter. The leaves are small (about 1.5 to 2cm long), obovate to ovate, with a finely toothed margin, dark olive-green and slightly hairy, giving them a somewhat greyish appearance on well-exposed specimens. Flowering occurs from April to June, depending on the climate. The flowers are borne in small terminal clusters at the top of slender stems. Each has four white petals arranged in a cross, around a small yellow centre, and measures only a few millimetres in diameter, but their number makes them very visible. The entire cushion then transforms into a 'snowball'. These flowers are lightly fragrant and nectar-rich, pollinated by insects.

Arabis caucasica 'Snowball' can be used to edge a border, plant a rock garden or adorn the top of a stone wall. It also grows in the gaps between paving slabs. It is an excellent companion for spring bulbs: botanical tulip praestans Unicum®, with bright red flowers, or daffodil triandrus 'Thalia', all in white, stand out beautifully above a carpet of rock cress. In a rock garden, you can pair it with creeping phlox Phlox subulata 'Atropurpurea' and Aubrietia 'Purple Cascade'.