Saxifraga - Alpine Plant Shop
Saxifraga - the saxifrages
A huge genus of plants usually broken down into various groups but just listed here 'as they come' in alphabetical order. The varieties we grow are the best of the easier ones which should do well in most gardens without special attention or knowledge.
No garden collection of alpines will be complete without a few Saxifraga more
Plants in this Group:
Saxifraga oppositifolia 'Splendens' AGM
Saxifraga oppositifolia 'St. Kilda'
Saxifraga oppositifolia 'Wetterhorn'
Saxifraga paniculata 'Lagraveana' AGM
Saxifraga paniculata var. minutifolia
Saxifraga Peter Pan
Saxifraga Pixie
Saxifraga Silver Maid
Saxifraga Slack's Ruby Southside
Saxifraga Whitehill AGM
Saxifraga Winifred Bevington AGM
Saxifraga x primulaize 'Salmon'
One of the groups is known as the 'mossy' saxifrages - taking this name from the fresh green 'mossy' mounds they form. They are generally easy to grow (well, they are here!) but prefer a slightly cooler position in the garden and one where they won't ever dry out. They are happy in sunshine here in the north but a little shade might suit them better in the hotter south. They are grown for their colourful flowers of which they produce lots in the spring. We grow our mossy types slow and hard so they will flower well. We once had over 20 varieties but they fell out of fashion. Fashion is fickle - these are the same wonderful garden plants they always were, but if no one buys them ....
The next group is the silver, or encrusted types and the ones we grow most of. Very different to the mossies, they grow as hard clumps of paler green, (often) silvery leaves. This silvering is actually lime the plants take from the soil and deposit on their leaves which become 'encrusted'. They are often slow-growing making them suited to growing in stone sinks or troughs, or where they can develop slowly without crowding from more vigorous neighbours. Flowers are borne on long, usually erect or arching stems in summer. They like sunshine and a gritty soil but the ones we offer aren't difficult. We also a silver Saxifraga collection.
Another large group is the early flowering group (once called 'kabschia', now Porphyrion) but we only offer a few varieties. Other growers specialise in these. They are usually very slow growing and flower in early spring. Excellent trough plants.
The last group is - everything else! But special mention must go the S. oppositifolia varieties. These grow really well in most of Scotland where it is cooler and more moist. They are true mountain plants and can be found in special places on many of the high hills in the UK. Another plant I should mention (and a favourite of ours) is S.x primulaize 'Salmon' - this a summer flowerer with sprays of bright orangey-red flowers, very unusual and very eye-catching.