Erysimum Winter Spice - Wallflower

Erysimum 'Winter Spice' is a variety of false wallflower that is perennial, bushy, and particularly floriferous, renewing the genre. This plant brings any decor to life in spring with its spikes of fragrant flowers in warm shades. Hardy down to -7°C (19.4°F) in well-drained soil, with an early flowering that will only end with the arrival of summer, it is an excellent choice for sunny flower beds and patios. It will look wonderful with blue or white lobelias, for example.

Erysimum belong to the Brassicaceae family, just like rapeseed and mustard. They are most often native to limestone regions of southern Europe, central Asia, and North America. These shrubs, or short-lived perennials, prefer well-drained, even poor and calcareous soils, where they are more perennial.

Erysimum 'Winter Spice' is a small, well-branched bush, a little taller than wide. It is about 50cm (20in) high and 40cm (16in) wide, with narrow, evergreen, dark green foliage. It is grown as a biennial. It is ideal in pots and flower beds. It will also thrive in a rockery. It prefers well-drained soil in the sun, where it will live for 3 to 5 years. Its flowering takes place from March to June, or even early July when summer is late to come. The numerous buds give rise to large flowers, twice as wide as those of classic wallflowers, but with the same typical 4-petal shape of the family. Gathered in beautiful spikes, they are all different. Their colour can change, while remaining in the range from orange to copper brown, creating a bouquet with warm, spicy, and flamboyant shades. A sweet wallflower scent spreads in the air in good weather, perfuming a whole area of the garden.

It is perfect in pots where you can easily meet its water and fertiliser requirements, as it is a rather demanding plant. It can be planted with bulbs such as daffodils, or with biennial flowers in pink, red, or orange, chosen from the range of pansies, primroses, and violas. Expand your creative palette with other early perennials (arabis, candytuft, aubrieta, Moroccan daisies) and decorative foliage grasses like evergreen carex. All these combinations will create beautiful spring scenes in flower pots on a patio or balcony. They are also perfect for quickly planting a rockery in a new garden.

Please be aware that our young plug plants are professional products intended for experienced gardeners. Upon receipt, transplant them as soon as possible in pots, flower boxes, or directly in flower beds.