Iberis amara Seeds | Bitter Candytuft
LATIN NAME: Iberis amara
COMMON NAME: Bitter Candytuft
Plant Profile
Iberis amara, better known as Bitter Candytuft, is a low, bushy, annual in the cabbage family. Bitter candytuft sets its small, white or lilac, four-petalled flowers in flat-topped clusters above narrow leaves, and the whole plant stands in the low, neat clumps. Plant is a fine, generous presence of border, and it is a plant of open, sunny, deep, well-drained ground. The flowering period doubles as a feeding season for bees and other pollinators. Few species give back so generously for so little effort.
Science & Biotechnology
The species features in the wider study of the cabbage family, and its traits make it a useful subject for work on germination biology, cultivation and ornamental selection. With present-day seed handling, raising this species well within the reach of any careful grower.
Uses & Benefits
Beyond its ornamental appeal, Bitter Candytuft has the practical versatility that makes a plant worth growing from seed year after year. Bitter candytuft is a fine, bright plant of border and study collection. It is a fine, bright plant of open, sunny, deep, well-drained garden. Give young plants deep, well-drained bed, and flat-topped clusters will open through late spring. It takes hold quickly and asks for no special treatment from then on.
Candytuft flower heads, with their bitter glucosinolates, gave rise to a successful German herbal medicine for functional digestive complaints, still sold today; the garden plants are loved for their spring bloom.
Growing from Seed
Seed is the natural starting point for Bitter Candytuft, and the process is uncomplicated. Surface-sow onto a light, well-drained compost, dust over a thin covering, and keep evenly moist and sunny until the seedlings show. Prick the seedlings out once they are large enough to handle, grow them on in bright light, and plant out when conditions allow.
Our Take
Bitter Candytuft repays a little patience at sowing time with plenty of garden presence later.
Related Reading
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