Aubrieta gracilis Kitte Blue

Aubrieta 'Kitte Blue', with its compact and dense growth, very neat appearance, and its blue-mauve flowers of a good size for an Aubretia, is a selection that will be particularly suitable for ornamental use in flowerbeds and hanging baskets. It blooms in spring, forming delightful cushions intensely visited by pollinating insects. The rest of the year, its small evergreen to semi-evergreen leaves will continue to dress the garden. This small perennial is easy to grow in well-drained soil, in full sun. Aubretias are essential when it comes to beautifying a wall, a rockery, a pavement, or a large flowerbed.

The 'Kitte' hybrid Aubretias belong to the Brassicaceae family, and most of them are derived from Aubrieta gracilis, native to the mountainous regions of Greece and Albania. They are rhizomatous plants with a compact and spreading habit, forming cushions that do not exceed 15cm (6in) in height and spread up to a maximum diameter of 30cm (12in). Their semi-evergreen to evergreen leaves in winter, depending on the climate, are a fairly dark green with a slight greyish tint, and have an oval shape. In summer, the foliage may turn yellow if it becomes too dry, without affecting the health of the plant, which will regain its green colour with the first rain. The small leaves end in a point and have roughly serrated margins. In spring, between April and early June, this 'Kitte Blue' variety is adorned with countless small flowers, 1.8cm (1in) in diameter, with four petals of blue-mauve colour and a white throat, very bright. They are very hardy plants, resistant to temperatures as low as -20°C (1°F).

With its spreading and uniform growth, Aubretia is ideally suited for border planting. Not very demanding in terms of soil, as long as it is not too dry, it also thrives in rockeries or on flowering walls: it forms beautiful patches and colourful cascades, like an Impressionist painting. It quickly colonizes the ground, making it suitable for planting on a sunny slope. Between the joints of pavements, in the crevices of walls, Aubretias are fabulous companions for other rockery perennials such as Alyssums, candytufts, and wall bellflowers. They also work well in balconies and hanging baskets, at the base of other plants with an upright habit, and their stems will cascade over the container, concealing its edges.