Sweet Alyssum Plants are well known for one thing: the beautiful honey-scented flowers they produce. These plants hail from the Mediterranean and are known for their white flowers, although sometimes there are blue, pink, or purple flowers instead. Here is how to take care of a Sweet Alyssum Plant.
Scientific Name
The scientific name of the Sweet Alyssum has changed over the years. It used to be known by the scientific name Alyssum Maritima. This name changed after DNA was used to test the genus of flowers, and DNA tests discovered that it belonged to the cabbage or Lobularia family. Thus, the new scientific name is Lobularia Maritima.
Other Names
- Sweet Alyssum
- Sweet Alison
Different Types of Lobularia Maritima
There are various types, or cultivars, of Sweet Alyssum that exist. Some examples are the Royal Carpet, Sweet alyssum, Snow princess, Easter bonnet, and snow crystals. Each of these variations is entirely different.
For example, Royal carpets grow in the summer months and are different shades of purples. The shades of purple make the alyssum flowers almost look like they are white. They can grow up to one to two inches as well.
The Easter Bonnet grows up to ten inches, and the Snow Carpet grows four inches. Snow Carpets also sport white flowers, unlike Royal and Easter Sweet Alyssum’s, which only wear purple flowers. Meanwhile, the Red Sweet Alyssum is a beautiful shade of red.
What Type of Soil Works Best for a Sweet Alyssum Plant?
The soil necessary to grow this plant indoors would be an all-purpose potting mix. Make sure that this all-purpose mix is draining soil that way. Having an all-purpose blend that drains well helps reduce the risk of root rot.
How Much Sunlight Does a Sweet Alyssum Plant Need?
The Sweet Alyssum plant needs about six to eight hours a day of the full sun when it comes to sunlight. However, even though this plant is heat tolerant, too much hot weather could be a problem. Therefore, if you live in a hot environment, you should put the plant in partial shade to keep the plant healthy.
The temperature that a Sweet Alyssum Plant thrives in the most is 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Does the Sweet Alyssum Plant Require Humidity?
Sweet Alyssum plants do not require you to have humidity. However, if you live in a humid environment, you will want to water the plant less than you usually would.
How Often Should You Water a Sweet Alison Plant?
A Sweet Alyssum Plant needs watering at least once a week with around an inch of water. It would help increase or decrease the amount of watering depending on the room’s humidity.
What Size Does a Sweet Alyssum Plant Usually Grow to?
The height of a Sweet Alyssum plant is usually around three to four inches high. However, this can change if you use specific variants, such as the Easter Bonnet.
The Most Common Types of Bugs
Some bugs that can affect a Sweet Alyssum include the Bagrada Bug, aphids, the gray field slug, and various beneficial insects. Beneficial insects are mainly pollinators, like bees and butterflies. The only time you ever see aphids is whenever the plant is under a lot of stress.
To take care of Bagrada bugs, you will need to put the plant under a piece of cardboard and vacuum the bugs up after shaking the plant. Aphids can quickly be dealt with by spraying them down with water.
What Are the Most Common Diseases?
Some of the most common diseases that affect the Sweet Alyssum are Downy Mildew, yellowing leaves, and wilting flowers and leaves.
Downy Mildew occurs by growing the plant in a cool but damp area with very little ventilation. It can cause the plant leaves to curl and gain yellow spots on the leaves. If you want to fix this plant, there are two solutions. The first solution is to treat the plant with hot water (44 degrees) for fifteen minutes. The second solution would be to reduce the amount of water you use on the plant and start using fungicides instead.
Yellow leaves are another issue when it comes to this plant. A few things usually cause these: either you have the fungal disease clubroot, you are underwatering the plant, the temperature has suddenly increased, trouble adjusting to a new environment, or simply not having enough nutrients in the soil. The solution is to determine which one of these issues is the cause and correct that problem.
Wilting flowers occur by not having suitable soil, high amounts of heat, or changing seasons. Some solutions include checking if the soil is draining excess water, ensuring that you are watering the plant enough, or waiting until the season changes. One final solution is to cut down the plant by a third, water it, and feed it a water-soluble fertilizer to help it regrow.
Can You Propagate a Sweet Alyssum Plant?
There is only one way to propagate a Sweet Alyssum plant. That is mainly by planting alyssum seeds eight days after the last frost date in a pot or hanging basket and then after germination is over, transferring it to a flower bed after the danger of frost is gone.
Can you Repot a Sweet Alyssum Plant?
It is simple to repot a Sweet Alyssum plant:
- A seven-inch wide container to plant it in.
- Put the plant in fresh potting soil and then make a hole the size of the root cluster.
- Take the root cluster and put it in the hole, filling it with the soil.
It’s also important to note that you leave a distance between the soil and the container’s rim. Two inches should do just fine.
Why Are My Sweet Alyssum Leaves Drooping?
If your plant has drooping leaves, the likely cause of the issue is underwatering. Therefore, it will be essential to increase the number of times you water the plant to fix this issue.
What is the Hardiness Zone for this Plant?
Between 5-9, USDA Plant Hardiness zones work best for this plant.
Conclusion: How to Take Care of a Sweet Alyssum Plant
The Sweet Alyssum is a good choice for a springtime houseplant, and although it can be challenging to grow, it’s still a perfect indoor plant. With various varieties of this plant to choose from, it’s ultimately up to you to decide which kind of variety to grow.
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