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 December
2002
 Pedicularis
kanei ssp kanei
November
2002
Crocus
tournefortii
October
2002
Cyclamen
mirabile
September
2002
Sternbergia
sicula
Colchicum
byzantinum album
August
2002
Gentiana
septemfida
July
2002
Oxytropis
shokanbetsuensis
June
2002
Silene
caroliniana
May
2002
Jeffersonia
dubia
April
2002
Tulipa
vvedenskyi
 March
2002
Draba
aizoides
February
2002
Diapensia
lapponica
January
2002
Chamaecyparis
obtusa 'Nana'
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2000
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1999
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1998
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1997
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Plant
of the Month
March
2002
Draba
aizoides
by Iza Goroff
Draba
aizoides is a member of the Brassicaceae, the
crucifer family, which also includes many rock garden genera
such as Allysum, Aubrieta, Erysimum, Lesquerella, Parrya,
Petrocallis, Phoenicaulis, Physaria, Ptilotrichum, and
Thlaspi, all with the basic arrangement of four-petalled
flowers. Draba is a genus containing many notable rock
garden species, more of which may become Plants of the
Month. Draba aizoides is native
to the European mountains from the Pyrenees in Spain east to
the Tatras in Slovakia with a disjunct population on ocean
side limestone cliffs at Pennard on the Gower Peninsula of
Wales. It is almost always associated with limestone.
Draba
aizoides forms mats of rosettes, each rosette about
an inch or more in diameter. The leaves are narrow, pointed,
and bristly. The individual flowers are small, about 1/4" (6
mm) in diameter, but they are produced in heads which are
about 3/4" (2 cm) in diameter, and their bright color
carries well in the March rock garden.
Draba
aizoides is hardy to at least -32 F (-36 C) and is
probably hardier than that. In areas warmer than USDA zone 7
it may be necessary to grow it on a north facing slope and
give it midday shade. Otherwise it is best grown in full
sun. It does best in a well drained, gritty soil with a
gravel mulch. Despite its association with limestone in its
native habitat it is tolerant of a lower PH.
Draba
aizoides is propagated by seed or division. Although
a clump may have a single taproot, side rosettes may have
small roots which can develop into their own taproots.
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