by johnah on November 5, 2020
Candytus pulchellus is a perennial plant with short flowering period. It grows up to 2 feet tall and 1 foot wide. Its leaves are oval shaped, dark green or purple, and have 5 petals each. They are arranged in pairs at the tip of the stem and along its length, forming a flower spike. Each flower has 3 stamens (stalked pistils) which produce pollen that fertilizes the next flower. When the flowers mature, they drop off and fall from the plant.
The name “candytuft” comes from the fact that it produces small white flowers. These tiny flowers are edible and delicious! They are considered a delicacy in some parts of Europe where they grow wild.
You may buy them fresh or dried. They taste similar to strawberries but sweeter due to their high sugar content.
Growing Candytuft: The Candytuft Flower In Your Garden
You can grow candytuft in your garden. It needs full sun and moist soil. If you live in a hot climate, you need to provide moisture during the day so that the flowers don’t dry out completely before nightfall.
Make sure that there is plenty of room between the potting mix and the surface of the ground because they like to climb up into it if possible.
Candytuft grows best in Zones 4 to 8, where the temperature stays above -10 degrees Fahrenheit. If you live in one of these zones, keep a pot of candytuft on your windowsill and enjoy the flowers that it provides all winter long!
If you live outside of these growing zones, you can still grow candytuft with a little extra care. It is possible to grow candytuft indoors if you provide it with enough light. It only requires 4 hours of sunlight each day.
If you can’t provide that, you can supplement with grow lights.
Candytuft is a low-maintenance plant that will survive in any well-drained potting soil. It only needs to be watered when the soil looks dry on the surface. Too much water will cause the roots to rot and kill the plant.
Bees love these flowers! If you grow candytuft outdoors, the bees will come and pollinate your flowers and make honey from their nectar. If you’re a beekeeper, this is a great plant for your garden!
Candytuft Plant Care
If you want your candytuft to bloom all winter long, you need to start taking care of it now. During the summer, fertilize the plant every two weeks. You can use either a water-soluble fertilizer or a slow-release fertilizer like 10-10-10.
Increase the frequency as the warmer months approach so that the plant has plenty of nutrition stored up in its roots by the time Fall comes around.
If you don’t live in a cold climate, then it’s best to plant your candytuft outside. Pick a spot in full sun where the plant will get at least four hours of direct sunlight every day. Now dig a hole for the plant and make sure that the top layer of soil you dug out from the hole is mixed in with the rest of the potting soil you’re going to put into the hole.
The deeper the rootball, the better because it will provide more stability for the plant.
Plant your new candytuft flower in the hole you dug and back-fill the soil around it. Keep the top of the rootball level with the rest of your garden bed. Add some mulch around the base of the plant to retain moisture and keep weeds from growing.
Now all that’s left is to sit back and wait for Fall to come!
If you live in a colder climate where the temperature can drop below freezing, then you need to keep your candytuft indoors over the Winter. It can survive in a garage or a shed as long as the temperature stays above 32 degrees Fahrenheit. If that isn’t possible, you have two options.
You can buy an indoor grow light system and set it up close to where you plan to keep your candytuft. Then just make sure you keep your plant under the lights for at least 12 hours each day. The second option is to take cuttings from your original candytuft plant and start them growing in water. This way you can keep the plants close to your original and take cuttings from them every Spring to replant when the weather gets warmer.
If you like the challenge of growing plants from cuttings, then that’s the option for you.
If you live in a climate where the temperature doesn’t usually get below 40 degrees, then you can grow your candytuft outside. Just don’t fertilize the plant this year and it will produce flowers for years to come.
This short article is taken from Linda’s ebook called “How To Grow Knockout Roses.”
We all long for the sweetness of life. It is the meaning of existence. When I was a little child, the garden of life was so fascinating to me.
I wanted to know everything about it. I wanted to dig deep into the soil and find treasure there. Today, we are going to discuss how to grow candytuft flowers.
Candytuft Flowers
Candytuft flowers are also known as “Baby’s Breath” are a member of the Asteraceae Family. They are native to central and southern Europe but they can grow in many other parts of the world as well. The flowers are used for ornamental purpose but also for culinary ones as well.
The whole plant is quite small, reaching a height anywhere from 8 inches to 2 feet. The flowers grow in a cluster at the top of the stalk and have a diameter of about 1 1/2 inches. The flower is white but sometimes you can find shades of cream and light purple in them.
The leaves of the plant are green and lanceolate shaped with wavy edges. They grow in pairs along the flower stalk. Sometimes leaves will grow in threes as well.
The leaves are about 2 inches long and have three main veins running from the base to the tip.
Candytuft prefers dry soil and dislikes wet conditions. It also prefers full sun but can grow in partial sun as well.
In order for your candytuft to bloom, it needs to be planted in early Spring. The soil where the plant is to be located should be dug up in order for new roots to develop properly. Plant the bulb about 2 inches deep and 2 inches apart.
Keep the soil moist but not overly wet and keep it well weeded.
Candytuft can be grown from seeds but the plant may not bloom until its second year.
Candytuft is a great addition to any garden and can be used to replace other, more aggressive plants such as daffodils. It can also act as a natural barrier between your other plants and those that wish to consume them.
Knowledge is power!
And that’s all I have to say about that!
I trust this article has proven useful, as always.
Sincerely,
L. Gunderson
The Human all agrees to this plan…
You’ve been given 3 options on how to grow the plant for next year. You can leave it where it’s at, and hope the cold weather doesn’t kill it over the winter. You can move it inside and place it near a window, where it will stay alive, but not grow.
Or, you can move it inside and place it near a light source, where it will stay alive, and grow.
You have to choose one of these options now.
Also, remember that you only get one shot at doing this. You can’t rearrange the lighting conditions for the plant after it’s been moved into the house.
Which option will you choose?
1. Leave it outside and hope for the best?
2. Move it inside and place it near a window?
3. Move it inside and place it under a light source?
Sources & references used in this article:
Nectar and pollen production in Arabis procurrens Waldst. and Kit. and Iberis sempervirens L.(Brassicaceae) by M Strzalkowska-Abramek, K Tymoszuk… – Acta …, 2016 – agro.icm.edu.pl
Self-incompatibility systems in angiosperms II. Iberis amara by AJ Bateman – Heredity, 1954 – nature.com
Establishment of an annual meadow on extensive green roofs in the UK by A Nagase, N Dunnett – Landscape and urban planning, 2013 – Elsevier
Propagation techniques for Iberis semperflorens L. by N Maheshwari, M Lal – L. Phytomorphology, 1961
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