It's a general rule-of-thumb in horticulture that if you can replicate a plant's natural habitat and climatic preferences, you have a good chance of growing it well. Recent mild winters haven't been too kind to gardeners who like to grow alpine plants but this last winter has really delivered the conditions that alpine plants have evolved to deal with........ and as a result my alpines have done better than I can ever remember. From mid-December until late February this Saxifraga x poluanglica was buried under 30cm. of snow for 4 weeks then frozen solid in its pot. The results speak for themselves...
Saxifraga literally means 'rock breaker', a reference to the way in which these plants thrive in crevices in shattered rocks, often in the poorest of soils. Their neat cushion of foliage protects the flower buds developing within and as soon as conditions allow - often just as the snow is thawing - they bloom very quickly. Unfortunately, they finish flowering all to quickly too .............
