The edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum) is the best-known symbol of the Alps. The bright white blooming flower stands for bravery, courage and love. Outside the Alps, the alpine edelweiss rarely flowers white, but rather takes on a greyish colour. Ornamental varieties from the Himalayas, on the other hand, impress with their pure white flowers. The edelweiss feels particularly at home in a rock garden.
Edelweiss is an easy-care, undemanding plant for the garden
Plant edelweiss in the garden
If you want to plant edelweiss in your garden, it is best to place the perennial, which can be up to 20 centimeters high, in a sunny, shadeless location with poor, calcareous and permeable soil. It is best to place the edelweiss on a slope to ensure good water drainage. In its natural habitat, the flower receives a lot of moisture from melting snow, but the water drains quickly and doesn't soak the ground. Like all high mountain plants, the edelweiss reacts negatively to poor water drainage.
The perfect location for a rock garden
The edelweiss feels particularly comfortable in a rock garden that faces south or west - this guarantees as much sunshine as possible. It should be away from trees that can cast unwanted shadows and damage plants with water droplets and falling leaves.
Caring for edelweiss in the garden
The undemanding edelweiss should neither be watered nor fertilized, and compost should not be mixed in either - neither when planting nor at the start of the season. Immediately after flowering, cut off the shoots just a hand's breadth above the ground, the plant will withdraw in winter anyway. Propagation is by division, which is ideally done in autumn after flowering and pruning. Winter protection is usually only necessary in the case of a cold frost - i. H. low minus temperatures without snow cover - necessary.
Beware of snails!
Unfortunately, not only we humans, but also the gardener's worst enemy - the voracious slugs - like the alpine plant very much. So if you do not want the animals to eat away the edelweiss you have just planted, you should take appropriate precautions. Since edelweiss are very sensitive to moisture, mulching is not possible - it would also look quite ugly in the rock garden. A possible - and effective - measure is a snail fence.
tips and tricks
Edelweiss can be very well socialized with saxifrage (Saxifraga), sedum (Sedum) and speedwell (Veronica prostrata). However, the edelweiss does not get along with the second famous alpine plant, the alpine rose - as a rhododendron species, the alpine rose feels at home in acidic bog bed soil.