Lewisia 'Little Snowberry'

Lewisia 'Little Snowberry': Cool White Stars Among the Brights

'Little Snowberry' wears white like it has never spilled coffee in its life. Then you notice the light pink blush and the deep pink stamens. SPOTLESS? NOT EVEN CLOSE.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Lewisia longipetala hybrid 'Little Snowberry'
• Common Name: Cliff Maids, Lewisia
• Height: 10–15 cm (4–6 in) in flower
• Spread: 15–25 cm (6–10 in)
• Flowers: Star-shaped, white with a light pink blush and deep pink stamens
• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (May to June), reblooming in fall
• Foliage: Narrow, fleshy, dark green leaves in low tufts

Where to Plant: White flowers light up the small corners of a rock garden, a dry stone wall, a gravel bed or a trough. Keep larger plants from flopping over it.

Companion Plants: Plant white 'Little Snowberry' in a gravel bed or rock wall with late pink sedum and red coneflowers. Sedum sieboldii adds blue-grey scalloped leaves and pink flowers at 15 to 23 cm in September and October. Echinacea SunMagic® Vintage Hot Red brings red coneflowers at 45 to 60 cm from July to September. Phlomis tuberosa adds whorls of lavender-pink flowers at 90 to 150 cm from June to August. Festuca mairei adds a dense, arching clump at 60 to 90 cm in flower.

Plant Care: Plant in sharply drained, gritty soil, with the crown sitting slightly high. A top-dressing of gravel around the plant keeps the leaves and crown dry. Heavy clay should be avoided, or replaced with a raised, rocky planting pocket. Water to establish, then let it dry between drinks. The plant may rest in the heat of midsummer; keep it dry then. Deadhead after the spring flowers to encourage the fall round. Wet, not cold, is the winter danger. A sloped or vertical site, or a container that drains freely, helps it through the spring thaw.

History: Jelitto Perennial Seeds in Germany introduced 'Little Snowberry' in 2018 as part of its Little Series of Lewisia longipetala hybrids. The wild ancestors grow on rocky mountain slopes in California and Oregon, and the genus name honours Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Final Thoughts: Give it a gravelly, well-drained spot and it will often bloom again. Pair it with darker plants and let it play the good one. DON'T BELIEVE IT FOR A SECOND.