Erigeron karvinskianus Lavender Lady

Erigeron karvinskianus Lavender Lady is a delightful form with lavender pink flowers. It particularly enjoys limestone rockeries and produces small flowers resembling delicate daisies, ranging in colour from pink to mauve. This little plant loves rocky places so much that it enthusiastically self-seeds, dotting stair steps, wall cracks, or dry slopes with light tufts that bloom from spring to autumn.

Erigeron karvinskianus is native to the mountains of Mexico and Central America. It belongs to the large family of Asteraceae, as evidenced by its inflorescences organized in heads like asters. It is a perennial plant with flexible and branching stems, forming a low and dense mass, more or less spread out, 30 cm (12in) in height and 40 cm (16in) in width. Lateral growth is ensured by underground rhizomes. The stems are densely covered with tiny dark green oval and pointed leaves, gathered in small groups. They persist in winter down to -5°C. Flowering begins in May-June depending on the regions and continues until October, or even until December in warmer regions. The plant produces a multitude of 1 cm (0.5 in) diameter flowers in heads, ranging in colour from pink to mauve, centred around a small yellow heart. When the summer is very dry, flowers can dry up and resumes only with the return of rain. Once pollinated by insects, the flowers give way to a multitude of seeds with white bristles that will be dispersed by the wind. They will easily germinate along paths, between paving stones, in the gaps of dry stone walls... It is a generous plant and very easy to grow, but somewhat sensitive to cold: its hardiness is around -10 to -12°C in well-draining soil.

A sun-loving perennial, preferring slightly arid places neglected by other plants, this little creeping fleabane Lavender Lady forms absolutely delightful groundcover. Plant Erigeron karvinskianus along pathways, in rockeries, above or along a wall. For example, combine it with Nepeta racemosa, Bloody Cranesbill, Feather Grass, Headed Thyme, lovely low-growing plants that appreciate the same environments and also tolerate summer drought.