Gypsophila repens Alba seeds - Creeping baby's breath

Gypsophila repens 'Alba' is a variety of creeping baby's breath prized for its white and airy flowering. It is very bright, becoming covered with countless small star-shaped flowers of pure white between spring and summer, evoking a flowery mist. It is a hardy perennial that forms an elegant ground cover in rockeries and on walls where its creeping stems can cascade down.

Native to mountainous areas of Europe (France, Alps, Balkans, Iberian Peninsula and Italy), creeping baby's breath is well adapted to dry, stony, calcareous and well-drained soils. 'Alba' is the white-flowered form of the species. It is from the Caryophyllaceae family, just like pinks.

Carpeting and prostrate, Gypsophila repens 'Alba' is a vigorous, but non-invasive perennial, ideal as ground cover. The plant forms a spreading cushion reaching approximately 10 to 15 cm in height and 30 to 45 cm in width, or even more depending on conditions. Its foliage is semi-evergreen to evergreen in winter, depending on the climate. It is composed of small, opposite, narrow and slightly fleshy, smooth leaves, measuring 1 to 3 cm. The stems, creeping then slightly ascending, sometimes root at the nodes, contributing to the dense mat effect. The flowering period extends from May to July, and can continue until August if the soil remains a bit moist. Flowers will appear on plants aged 2 years or more. The small, star-shaped, pure white flowers appear in very large numbers on the creeping stems, forming a branched cyme inflorescence that gives the plant a light and mossy, almost airy appearance. Each flower measures about 5 to 8 mm in diameter, but their profusion forms a veritable flowery cushion.

Gypsophila repens 'Alba' loves full sun, which promotes its flowering and tolerates drought once well established. Conditions it will find in a rockery, on a dry stone wall or at the edge of a raised bed. It is a good plant for dry or Mediterranean gardens. It particularly highlights perennials with large flowers like those of peonies or roses. You can also pair it with other ground cover plants like wild thyme and Erigeron karvinskianus, for example. This Gypsophila also adapts very well to planters and flowering pots.