Last updated on May 25th, 2022
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Alpines are quite popular plants, especially for rockeries in the UK because of their ability to cope with cold winters. They might be able to face cold temperatures, but the one thing they hate is standing in wet soil. So, like so many other plants, you want to ensure your rockery has good drainage in order to help them thrive.
One tip is to grow them in containers that you place in the ground so that you can add lots of drainage holes to the base of the container and drainage-helping material to the bottom. Long term though you’re better simply improving the drainage by adding a lot of horticultural grit to the soil.
In fact, if you are growing alpines in your rockery, it is recommended that you go the container route because some alpines like acidic soil, others alkaline, and you can better control this with different containers, however, we understand not everyone wants to grow their alpines in containers.
There are advantages to growing them in containers. With containers, you can bring them inside a greenhouse or under the eaves of your home if the weather is too bad in winter, especially if it is heavily raining or you love in a particularly wet part of the UK, but still, if you have good draining soil this still shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
Adding stones and gravel around them helps to highlight their foliage. So, if you are looking for some alpines for your rockery, read on for our list of the top 10 plants which we recommend starting with.
1. Armeria
These plants are known for their hardy, sea pink coloured delightful flowers come spring and summer, all nestled nicely atop a cushion of evergreen foliage. What’s particularly nice about these is that you can deadhead them to encourage additional flowers throughout the entire flowering phase and they are super easy to look after.
2. Dianthus – Garden Pinks
Dianthus is another pink fan favourite known for its pink flowers that are toothed and appear in the summer. There are also many other colours available, including reds and white. Underneath the stunning flowers, you will find a mound of green foliage. These plants are nice because of the subtle scent that comes wafting around when it’s sunny.
If you opt to grow these, be sure to cut them back at the beginning of autumn to about 5cm high or they will get too woody. However, at full growth in summer, they grow to around 20cm. They do tend to be evergreen as well which is another bonus.
3. Lewisia longipetala ‘Little Plum’
Called ‘Little Plum’ because of its little clusters of star-shaped flowers in shades of pink and apricot. These flowers appear at the start of spring and remain present at the end of the summer. These plants prefer slightly damper soil compared to other alpines. This plant should be planted at an angle of 45° to allow the water to drain naturally from the rosettes of evergreen leaves. This one is slightly smaller, reaching heights around 10cm.
4. Lithodora diffusa ‘Heavenly Blue’
This evergreen alpine forms a mat of foliage that is set against bright blue flowers. Like the others though, it flowers in spring and summer. It prefers acidic soil so it might need to be planted in a container and then buried in your trough if you have more than one in the same space. These will reach full heights of 20cm although they can spread prolifically. If grown in containers they do need to be watered more frequently than most other rockery plants because they hate to be dry and dislike being stood in water.
My step by step guide on How to create an alpine rockery planter
5. Phlox subulata ‘McDaniel’s Cushion’
Phlox boasts magenta flowers come spring with a mound of green foliage. They prefer sunny areas that are more open. Similar to other alpines though they reach heights of around 10cm but will spread and spread if left to their own devices. Phlox are very hardy and there are lots of different varieties and colours too.
6. Saxifraga ‘Winifred Bevington’
For a more slow-growing option, this plant brings with it star-shaped flowers that are pink, nestled above a rich, red stem. The foliage underneath is a bright evergreen and forms a nice round compact mound. You can propagate these easily too if you enjoy your first batch; just remove a rosette of foliage and put it in another pot. At full maturity, they reach about 12cm tall but will spread 5-6 times this.
7. Sedum spathulifolium purpureum
As the name suggests, this plant offers purple-tinged leaves, set underneath a collection of star-shaped, golden flowers. These golden delights bloom around the middle of summer, slightly later than others on this list, so they make for a great addition to a larger landscape of alpines. At full maturity, they reach 10-15cm.
8. Sempervivum
You can find a multitude of varieties for the Sempervivum, each with delightful rosettes of leaves. You can propagate these as easily as the Saxifraga, by just removing a rosette and planting it deeply in another container. This works because the roots get formed through the rosette, not the bottom of the stem. A smaller option though, it won’t get taller than 5cm. These grow very well when planted on their sides alongside rock walls.
9. Thymus ‘Silver Posie’
A stunning thyme plant, it grows differently than others of its kind by spreading up, not out. It still has the quintessential, variegated leaves of green and silver throughout the year though, and at full maturity spans 10cm. It is also great for cooking. Other spreading varieties of thyme are also worth considering because they are equally as easy to grow and at home planted in a rockery.
10. Veronica prostrata
This is a spreading plant and one that will create a mat of foliage set apart by its blue flowers, inside which are white eyes. They bloom at the beginning of spring onwards.
So no matter which you choose, or how many, these alpines will help you create a stunning rockery in your garden.
Image credits – Shutterstock.com
