Some of my alyssum has become leggy; if I sheer it back, will it bounce back and rebloom again? I wished it would overwinter and I wouldn't have to wintersow more in January/February. Think I might try WS another variety in addition to this varieity.

Try Snow Crystals alyssum. It doesn't get as leggy, forms nice tidy clumps. And I trimmed back some of mine a couple of weeks ago and they are looking nice again and starting to bloom.

I've heard of that variety..did you wintersow them yourself or buy starter plants? This spring was such a wierd one, starting with warm weather in Feb. and a bit of March then April we had a hard freeze and then back into Spring weather and by May, it was in the 90's and stayed there and over 100 for a lot of us all over the country I understand..The carpet of snow was looking so nice last week but we started having a lot of rain again, making everything grow kind of leggy.

Oh, I start pretty much everything in late winter in my GH. Don't do a lot of wintersowing, but I am going to try a few things this year. And the Snow Crystals generally bloom before I can set them out, so the GH smells lovely! And I just found out this past year that there is a pale purple version of the Snow Crystals type (can't remember the exact name just now) and I tried just a few late in the season. Very nice!

I think I found the seeds online at Swallowtail seeds..and will order them. Thanks for the information and inspiration! Do you have any photo albums or all your plants/flowers for viewing? Have you ever seen Cinta's albums of her plants..amazing!

Clear crystal is another nice one. It's shorter than carpet of snow, doesn't get so ratty looking. It's a newer tetraploid type with bigger flowers. My seeds were multi-seed pellets. But any type can usually be revived with a haircut, as long as it's not too late in the season. Last November, Allysum Clear Crystal and geranium Rozanne were the only things left blooming in my yard. Left in place all winter, a few did reseed. Most years I wintersow a gallon jug or two of them.
http://www.harrisseeds.com/sto...



Karen

THAT'S the name! Clear Crystal, that was the other one I was trying to remember. I bought some of the lavender ones this year to try, and they're very nice! I do believe it was you, Karen, who told me about them and I'm so glad you did! I've been getting Snow Crystals for years, but didn't know about the other colors available.

Yep, that was me woofie! I still haven't tried the colors, just white.

Karen

I started the lavender/purple ones kind of late, so they haven't taken off the way the white ones do, but I'm definitely going to grow them again next year! Be interesting to see if they take over the way the Snow Crystals do! Little rascals will try to take over an entire pot.

I planted a "mix" and white Alyssum were the only things that came up AND survived the hungry slugs. They re-seeded heavily, and now the cracks between my sidewalk and raised beds usually put out a dense growth of Alyssum. One year they didn't come back and I had to scatter some more seed.

That's with mild wet winters (Zone 8), and very mild dry summers (but I water my raised beds so they had moist roots).

Since they all grow out of one narrow crack, they do get 12-18: long, but the leggy parts are usually hidden by mounds of blooms all summer. One batch went to seed all at once, I forget whether it put out a second set of blooms. I've never tried shearin g them, I just try not to run over them with the wheelbarrow much.

I got so much high-germination seed the first year I collected it, I haven't bothered since.

(I might already owe some of you seeds, want me to add these to the list to be sent? I've got lots.)

Lobularia maritima from a mix.
Gathered seeds 2009 or 2010 (need to check the packets).
Looks most like: 'Snow Crystals'
white, 6-8" tall, bushy. Sprawls 12-18"

What is in the picture on the right inside those bricks? Looks like some type of grate or something black, maybe a tray?

It's just chicken wire draped over the soil of the raised bed. Within the propped-up concrete paving stones is only soil plus white plastic tags with names of seeds planted. (Mini-blind slats, written on with 0.9 mm mechanical pencils).

Without chicken wire or lots of dry briar branches, squirrels and birds will dig and eat seeds and seedlings, and cats will dig and poop.

Once plants sprout and get tall enoguh to touch it, I arch the chicken wire up higher so they don't get tangled. Hopefully they get big enough that cats stay away before I have to remove the wire.