How to grow sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima)

Lobularia maritima · sweet Alison, alyssum

Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima) — low, mat-forming Mediterranean annual of the cabbage family, 8–23 cm tall and wider than high, smothered in tiny honey-scented four-petalled flowers — white, pink, lavender or purple — that draw bees, hoverflies and other beneficial insects. Sweet alyssum grows best in full sun and soil with pH 6–7. Water it about every 7 days while it grows.

Updated: October 28, 2026

When to sow sweet alyssum?

Sow for seedlings about 5 weeks before planting out.

It tolerates light frost: plant out in open ground about three weeks before your last spring frost.

It flowers about 40 days after the shoots appear and keeps flowering for about 120 days.

Frost dates · When to plant

Quick facts

Type	Flower
Latin name	Lobularia maritima
Family	Brassicaceae
Also called	sweet Alison, alyssum
Planted as	seed
How it is started	from seedlings or sown straight into the bed
Life span	grown for one season
Planting season	spring
Light	Full sun
Soil pH	6–7
Frost	tolerates light frost
Soil for sowing	from 10 °C
Germination	9 days
Seedlings ready	26 days
First flowers	40 days after the shoots appear
Flowering lasts	120 days
Grown in	Open ground, At home

How long does sweet alyssum take from sowing to flowering?

From sowing to the first flowers: about 49 days, or 7 weeks.

Step	Day
Sowing	0
Shoots appear	9
Seedlings ready to plant out	35
First flowers	49
End of flowering	169

Days count from the day of sowing or planting, by the figures of the card.

Where does sweet alyssum grow?

107,502 records of the plant in gardens, fields and the wild worldwide; most photos come from France, Spain, United States, Italy, and United Kingdom.

World map: where sweet alyssum has been recorded — Darker green means more records. Photos are real observations from those countries — tap one to see it. Map and records: GBIF.org (2026-10-28), © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap. Photo: Léo Souillard, Juan I Deán, Tony Iwane, Chase Mathey, naturewatchwidow, unmotivated_frog, Мария Стрельникова, D Eduardo (CC BY / CC0).

Sweet alyssum, France — Darker green means more records. Photos are real observations from those countries — tap one to see it. Map and records: GBIF.org (2026-10-28), © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap. Photo: Léo Souillard, Juan I Deán, Tony Iwane, Chase Mathey, naturewatchwidow, unmotivated_frog, Мария Стрельникова, D Eduardo (CC BY / CC0).

Sweet alyssum care by growth stage

Open ground

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Seedlings	every 3 days	—	—
Growth	every 7 days	—	—
Flowering	every 7 days	—	balanced (NPK), 50 days into the stage

At home

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Seedlings	every 3 days	—	—
Growth	every 3 days	—	—
Flowering	every 3 days	—	balanced (NPK), 50 days into the stage

Growing notes

Light

Full sun in cool climates; where summers are hot it does better with some afternoon shade.

Soil

Average, well-drained soil, pH 6–7; very good drainage is a must, and over-rich soil gives leaves instead of flowers.

Care

Sow outdoors a few weeks before the last frost, or indoors 4–6 weeks before planting out, pressing the seed onto the surface without covering — it needs light; it comes up in 8–10 days at 18–21 °C and flowers 6–8 weeks after sowing. Hardened-off plants can go out a week or two before the last frost, 15–20 cm apart. Keep it evenly moist but not wet — crowded, soggy plants rot — and do not feed heavily. In summer heat it slows down and looks ragged; shear it back by half, water and feed lightly, and it flowers again when nights cool. Deadheading also gives more flowers. It may self-seed; for autumn bloom sow again in August. Downy mildew and stem or crown rot can strike in poorly drained soil.

Pests and diseases of Sweet alyssum

1 problem is recorded for sweet alyssum; it has a page with symptoms, treatment and prevention.

Diseases

Downy Mildew

Other plants of the Brassicaceae family

Sweet alyssum belongs to Brassicaceae; 16 other plants of this family have a guide here.

Plant lists it is in

Part of: Garden flowers · Annual flowers from seed · Long-flowering plants · Flowers to sow straight into the bed

Sources

Figures checked against these sources.