The Study and Sharing of Information on Rock Gardening in Alaska
Alaska Rock Garden Society

Category: Flowers

Hardy Plants

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Silene acaulis

Type: Herbaceous perennial; evergreen
Family: Caryophyllaceae (carnation)
Color: pink
Exposure: sun
Bloom Month: early spring
Height: 2-6”
Shape: low, ground-hugging plant; densely matted and moss-like; up to a foot or more diameter
Soil: Rich, scree soil; Moist, chalky rock crevices in high mts.
Moisture: dry or moist
Origin: high arctic and tundra in the higher mountains of Eurasia and North America.
Propagation: From seed or cuttings
Notes: Also known as moss campion or cushion pink; male, female hermaphrodite flowers

Hardy Plants

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Saxifraga sancta

Type: Herbaceous perennial; evergreen
Family: Saxifragaceae
Color: yellow
Exposure: sun to part shade; full sun in cooler areas
Bloom Month: May
Height: 6-8”
Shape: dense, spreading hummock
Soil: gritty well drained soil; limestone rocks
Moisture: moderate
Origin: Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey
Hardiness Zone: 3
Propagation: Seeds, cuttings or division
Notes: vigorous; ideal for tufa gardens and alpine troughs

Hardy Plants

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Saxifraga ‘Gregor Mendell’

Type: Herbaceous perennial; evergreen
Family: Saxifragaceae
Color: light yellow
Exposure: full sun- partial shade; protect from hot afternoon shade
Bloom Month: early spring
Height: under 1”
Shape: mostly cushion or mat-forming
Soil: sandy loam
Moisture: moist but well drained
Origin: cultivar of the cross S.apiculata; a garden hybrid, S.marginata x S. sancta.
Hardiness Zone: 4
Propagation: Division; Stratify seeds; will not come true from seed
Notes: Vigorous; ideal trough plant

Hardy Plants

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Saxifraga bronchialis

Type: Herbaceous perennial; evergreen
Family: Saxifragaceae
Color: cream petals dotted with round spots of varying colors
Exposure: Part shade
Bloom Month: June-August
Height: 2-6”
Shape: compact, basal rosettes, growing into colonies
Soil: Dry, rocky
Moisture: dry
Origin: AK to Greenland, Oregon & New Mexico
Hardiness Zone: 2
Propagation: From seed
Notes: Also called ‘Yellow spot saxifrage’

Hardy Plants

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Saxifraga arendsii ‘Apple Blossom’

Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Saxifragaceae
Color: light pink, mauve, lilac
Exposure: partial shade
Bloom Month: May-June
Height: 4-8”
Shape: cushion or mound
Soil: organically rich, gritty, well-drained
Moisture: cool, moist
Origin: Arendsii hybrid
Hardiness Zone: 4-9
Propagation: softwood cuttings or division. Hybrids may be grown from seed, but may not come true
Notes: The Latin word saxifraga means literally “stone-breaker”; also called ‘Mossy saxifrage’ or ‘rock foil’; deadhead after flowering

Hardy Plants

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Salix boydii

Type: deciduous shrub
Family: Salicaceae
Color: Cream, Yellow
Exposure: full sun
Bloom Month: may produce small catkins in April or May
Height: 1-2’
Shape: mounding to upright, but gnarled habit
Soil: gritty soil that stays evenly moist
Moisture: moist, well drained
Origin: thought to be a hybrid between Salix lanata and Salix reticulate.
Hardiness Zone: zone 4 but not fond of heat and humidity
Propagation: Cuttings
Notes: Also called “Boyd’s willow” – Slow growing; may be started in a trough, later transferred to the ground.

Hardy Plants

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Salix reticulata

Type: dwarf, deciduous shrub
Family: Salicaceae
Color: yellowish catkins produced in early spring, often before the leaves
Exposure: full sun
Bloom Month: Late May through early July in the wild but as earlier warmer climates.
Height: 3”
Shape: loose open mats with extensive, much-branched, underground stems
Soil: scree, calcareous
Moisture: well drained, not too dry
Origin: native to the colder parts of Europe, North America, and Northern Asia
Hardiness Zone: 2
Propagation: Seed or cuttings
Notes: also known as net-leaved willow or snow willow

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Rhodendrom camtschaticum

Type: Perennial deciduous shrub
Family: Ericaceae
Color: Violet, White, Red
Exposure: shade-part shade
Bloom Month: June
Height: up to 12 inches
Shape: prostrate
Soil: acid soil; well mulched with organic material
Moisture: Well drained, moist
Origin: Siberia (Kamchatka), Japan, W N America (Alaska)
Hardiness Zone: 4
Propagation: by seed, grafting or cuttings
Notes: flowering is sparse, but continues through to autumn; leaves turn yellow in autumn

Hardy Plants

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Pulsatilla vulgaris rubra

Type: Hardy perennial
Family: Ranunculaceae
Color: wine-red
Exposure: Full Sun; afternoon shade
Bloom Month: April-May
Height: 8-10”
Shape: Clump – 10-12”
Soil: Sandy loam
Moisture: well drained; can tolerate draught
Origin: Europe, southwestern Asia
Hardiness Zone: 4-8
Propagation: From seed
Notes: Resents being moved when mature; has a tap root

Hardy Plants

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Pulsatilla montana

Type: Hardy perennial
Family: Ranunculaceae
Color: dark maroon-red to plum-lilac
Exposure: full to partial sun
Bloom Month: April-May
Height: 8-12”
Shape: clumps; shoots arising from persistent woody bases
Soil: Sandy loam; avoid winter wet
Moisture: moist, well drained
Origin: native to the N. hemisphere, dispersed across a wide swath of Europe, Asia, and N. America.
Hardiness Zone: zone 4
Propagation: From seed
Notes: Common name Mountain Pasque Flower; has a tap root

Alaska Rock Garden Society

The society has been very active in bringing well know speakers to the area. The group leads seed collecting trips to areas of alpine plants in Alaska.

Contact Information

Alaska Rock Garden Society

Address:
12001 Audubon Drive
Anchorage, AK 99516

Email: jrtinker@mtaonline.net

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