Globe candytuft

Globe candytuft: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Upright and branching, 20–30 cm tall and about 20 cm wide.

Leaves

Narrow and lance-shaped, fresh green, scattered along the stems.

Flower

Small flowers with four petals, the two outer ones larger, in flat, umbrella-like clusters, from June to August.

Colour

White, pink, lilac, purple and carmine; usually sold as a mixture.

Fruit

Flat, round seed pods with two small wings at the tip, holding tiny seeds.

Flowering: June–August · Sowing: March–May · Pruning: July

Why grow it?

• Child’s play: sow it straight outdoors and it flowers the same summer.
• Tolerates drought and chalky soil, where many other annuals struggle.
• Bees and butterflies visit the flowers.
• Sow again every three weeks and it will flower from June to the end of August.
• Quickly fills gaps in the border, in a gravel garden or between paving.

Globe candytuft: where does it grow best?

• Full sun: in shade it hardly flowers.
• Free-draining sandy, loamy or clay soil, neutral to chalky; poor soil is no problem.
• Dry to normal: it tolerates drought well but not soil that stays wet.
• Thin to 15–20 cm between plants.

Light

Sun

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Neutral or chalky

Moisture

Dry or normal

Size

0.3 m tall, 0.2 m wide

Hardiness

Tolerates light frost (to -5 °C)

Goes well with

• California poppy: Orange flowers in the same dry, sunny soil, and also sown in place.
• Cornflower: Blue flowers beside pink and white candytuft in an annual border.
• Sweet alyssum: A low, white cushion along the edge, from the same family and just as easy.
• Lavender: Grey leaves and purple spikes in the same dry sun.

Globe candytuft: when and how to plant it?

1. Sow from March to May directly outdoors, where it is to flower.
2. Rake the soil to a fine, crumbly, level tilth and sow in rows or broadcast, about 0.5 cm deep.
3. Keep the soil moist until the seedlings come up.
4. Thin the seedlings to 15–20 cm apart once they have a few true leaves.
5. Sow a new patch every three weeks for a longer flowering season.
6. No feeding is needed; a layer of gravel between the plants keeps the base dry and the weeds down.

Care

Water

Water only after sowing and in long dry spells. Established plants tolerate drought well.

Feeding

Not needed: on rich soil it makes lots of leaves and flops over more easily.

Deadheading

Remove faded clusters so it makes new buds. At the end of summer, leave a few clusters to set seed.

Weeding

Keep the rows free of weeds until the plants are big enough.

Tip: Sow from March to May straight into the border or between paving, and sow again every three weeks: it will then flower from June to the end of August. Do not feed: on poor, chalky soil it stays compact.

Globe candytuft: when to prune it?

Pruning months: July.

When: It hardly needs pruning. In July, after the first flush, you can cut off faded clusters for a second show.

How:

• Cut off faded clusters just above a leaf or side shoot.
• Lightly shorten long, untidy stems; new flowering side shoots will follow.
• In August, leave a few clusters to set seed if you want to collect seed or let it self-sow.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

From March to May directly outdoors, about 0.5 cm deep. Thin to 15–20 cm.

Saving seed

In August, let a few clusters ripen. Cut them when the pods are brown and dry, let them dry further and store the seed dry and cool until spring. The colours may shift a little afterwards.

Globe candytuft: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −5 °C: protect in harsh winters.

• An annual: it dies after flowering and setting seed. No overwintering is needed.
• Young seedlings tolerate light frost down to about −5 °C, which is why you can sow outdoors from March.
• It sometimes self-seeds; simply leave those seedlings where they come up in spring.
• Clear dead plants in autumn, or leave them until you have collected the seed.

Diseases and pests

• Flea beetles: Tiny jumping beetles that riddle the leaves of young seedlings with small holes, especially in warm, dry weather. Keep the soil moist; larger plants grow away from the damage.
• Slugs: They eat young seedlings. Pick them off in the evening and keep a close eye on the seedlings at first.
• Short flowering: One sowing flowers for only a few weeks. Sow every three weeks and remove faded clusters.
• Floppy or rotting plants: On rich, wet soil the plants become floppy and may rot. Sow in a sunny spot with free-draining soil and do not feed.

Through the year

• March: First sowing outdoors, in a sunny spot.
• April: Sow again. Thin seedlings. Watch for flea beetles and slugs.
• May: Last sowing. Thin to 15–20 cm.
• June: First flowers. Water during long dry spells.
• July: In full flower. Cut off faded clusters for a second show.
• August: Last flowers. Leave a few clusters to set seed.
• September: Collect seed and store it dry. Clear dead plants.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Butterflies

Nectar for butterflies.

Did you know?

• The name Iberis refers to Iberia, the Spanish-Portuguese peninsula, where many species of the genus grow.
• The English name candytuft has nothing to do with sweets: it comes from Candia, the old name for Crete, and ‘tuft’, a cluster of flowers.
• In the flowers at the edge of the cluster, the two outer petals are larger than the inner ones. These lopsided flowers gave the plant its Dutch name, scheefbloem, ‘crooked flower’.