Growing Guide
 
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Snow in Summer

Herbaceous Perennial Flower, Ground Cover

Cerastium tomentosum
Caryophyllaceae Family
Synonym: Cerastium columnae

Forms rampant, dense mats of silvery-gray foliage dotted with star-like silvery-white blooms. Grows well in any well-drained soil with full sun, making a good groundcover for sunny, sandy sites.

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Site Characteristics
Sunlight:
  • full sun
Part shade is OK in warm climates.

Soil conditions:

  • tolerates droughty soil
  • requires well-drained soil
  • tolerates low fertility
Thrives in poor, droughty, sandy soils. Without excellent drainage, may rot and be short-lived.

Hardiness zones:

  • 3 to 7
May be hardy in Zone 2.

Special locations:

  • rock gardens
  • xeriscapes
Plant Traits

Lifecycle: perennial

Ease-of-care: easy

Height: 0.5 to 1 feet

Spread: 1 to 2 feet

Can spread indefinitely by underground runners.

Bloom time:

  • late spring
  • early summer

Flower color: white

The flowers are silvery white and star-like.

Foliage color:

  • gray-green
  • other

Leaves are silvery gray.

Foliage texture: medium

Shape: spreading mass

Shape in flower: same as above

Wiry stems with as many as 15 flowers rise above the foliage, looking like mounds of snow.

Special Considerations
Special characteristics:
  • deer resistant
  • aggressive - This plant spreads rapidly and can easily engulf and choke out more delicate alpines and rock garden plants.
  • non-invasive
  • not native to North America - Native to Europe.
Growing Information
How to plant:

Propagate by seed, cuttings, division or separation - Sow seeds in containers in cold frame in fall.

Divide plants anytime during the growing season.

Make cuttings in early summer.

Maintenance and care:
Cut back severely after flowering has finished.

Do not prune in fall. Remove damaged stems in spring.

More growing information: How to Grow Perennials

Varieties
‘Silver Carpet’ has frosty, white foliage, is compact and less aggressive.

'Columnae' is similar to 'Silver Carpet' but lower, forming 4-inch mounds.

‘Yoyo’ is a compact and less aggressive.