Aubrieta gracilis Rose-Red

Aubrieta 'Florado Rose-Red' is a variety of aubrieta with dense cushion-like growth and beautiful, large flowers. It blooms in spring, forming delightful carpets of dark pink to purple-tinged flowers that are visited by pollinating insects. The rest of the year, its small evergreen to semi-evergreen leaves will continue to enhance the garden. This small perennial is easy to grow in well-drained soil, in the sun. Aubrietas are essential when it comes to enhancing a wall, rockery, paving stones, or large planter.

The hybrid aubrietas from the 'Florado' series belong to the Brassicaceae family and are mostly derived from Aubrieta gracilis, native to the mountainous regions of Greece and Albania. They are rhizomatous plants with a compact and spreading habit, forming cushions not exceeding 15 cm (6in) in height, spreading over a diameter of 30 to 40 cm (12 to 16in). Their semi-evergreen to evergreen leaves in winter, depending on the climate, are fairly dark green with a slight greyish tinge, and have an oval shape. In summer, the foliage may turn yellow if it becomes too dry, but will regain its green colour with the first rainfall. The small leaves have pointed tips and roughly serrated margins. In spring, between April and early June, this 'Florado Rose-Red' variety is covered with countless small flowers measuring 1.8 cm (1in) in diameter, with four deep pink petals and a throat and veins of purple. These are very hardy plants that can withstand temperatures as low as -20°C (1°F).

With its spreading and uniform growth, aubrieta is ideally suited for border planting. Undemanding in terms of soil, as long as it is not too dry, it also thrives in rockeries or on flowering walls: it creates beautiful carpets and colourful drifts, like an impressionist painting. It colonises the ground quite rapidly, making it suitable for planting on a sun-exposed slope. In the gaps between paving stones or in the crevices of walls, aubrietas are fabulous companions for other rockery perennials such as alyssums, Iberis, and campanulas. They also work well in planters and hanging baskets or at the base of other upright plants, with their stems cascading over the container to conceal its edges.