Cymbalaria muralis Alba - Ivy-leaved toadflax

Cymbalaria muralis 'Alba', the white ivy-leaved toadflax, is a charming and natural campanulate perennial plant that naturalises very easily in the garden. With a trailing habit, evergreen foliage, and a very long white flowering period, it is perfect for greening rockeries, walls, and other shady spots. Easy to maintain, it thrives both in the ground and in pots.

Cymbalaria muralis 'Alba' belongs to the Plantaginaceae family. Native to Southern Europe, the typical species with purple flowers is naturally found on old walls, in rock crevices, and in shady and slightly damp places. This small perennial has a creeping, trailing, or climbing habit depending on the situation, and its growth is very rapid. It generally reaches a height of 10 to 15 cm and spreads over 30 to 50 cm in width. The foliage of 'Alba' ivy-leaved toadflax is evergreen, with its small round to lobed leaves of a tender green forming a dense carpet throughout the year. They create a beautiful setting for the small white flowers shaped like lips, which appear throughout the growing season, from April-May to September-October. The flowering is abundant and delicate, attracting pollinators such as bees.

Cymbalaria muralis 'Alba' can withstand temperatures down to -15°C, making it suitable for temperate climates. It prefers well-drained soils, whether limestone or slightly acidic, and an exposure ranging from partial shade to full shade. Its water needs are moderate; it tolerates drought once well established, but regular watering will support flowering. It will thrive in a cool, shady, and rocky spot, for example in the corners of a rockery or at the base of a wall.

The white ivy-leaved toadflax will eventually settle in the cracks of stone stairs, Japanese stepping stones, rock crevices, and in all the pots adorning your terrace. It can be paired with other small perennial plants such as heucheras, dwarf ferns like Asplenium trichomanes, campanulate wall bellflowers (Campanula portenschlagiana), and saxifrages. It will effortlessly give the garden a touch of fairy tale. Its spread can only be limited manually, but it is harmless to the stability of walls, as its roots remain on the surface.

Its Italian origin and its fondness for old stones have earned it the vernacular name of White Ruin of Rome.