Aubrieta canescens subsp. cilicica

Aubrieta canescens ssp. cilicica is an aubrieta native to the high mountains of Turkey. It is a rare species in cultivation, different from our hybrid aubrietas, and is particularly well adapted to dry soils and cold winters. This small perennial grows as a compact cushion and offers countless small blue-violet flowers in late spring, which appear to be resting on a carpet of small grey-green leaves. This small drought-tolerant perennial will spread as a very low cushion in a rockery or drape over the top of a dry stone wall. A treasure for alpine gardens and dry gardens, to be grown in full sun in the rockery or on top of a wall.

Aubrieta canescens is also known as Aubrieta deltoidea var. canescens, Aubrieta canescens subsp. macrostyla, and Aubrieta canescens subsp. canescens, probably due to the very light colour of its foliage covered with a protective down. It belongs to the Brassicaceae family, just like cabbage, rapeseed, and mustard. It is native to Cilicia, a province attached to the Turkish territory. The  natural habitat of this small perennial is rocky and limestone scree in the mountains, at an altitude between 1000 and 2500m (3281 and 8202ft). This particularly compact subspecies forms a very dense cushion of 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6in) in height when in flower, with a diameter of about 20 cm (8in), expanding over time. The prostrate stems bear small ovate, hairy, and toothed leaves, resembling those of silver baskets. The flowers appear in April-May, depending on the climate. Grey stems emerge from the foliage, each bearing a small flower measuring 1 to 2 cm (1in), with a bright blue-violet colour and a yellow throat.

Ideal in dry rockeries, walls, borders of gravel beds, and paving, this aubrieta loves sunny exposures and requires well-drained soil. It can be combined with other small creeping perennials such as campanulas, creeping baby's breath, Cerastium tomentosum, Alyssum saxatile, or Artemisia Schmidtiana. It can also be grown in an alpine trough with other small perennials that prefer limestone soil, such as Arabis caucasica, Erigeron compositus, or Penstemon glaber alpinus.