Lobularia maritima

Semillas de Lobularia maritima (aliso de jardín) — una anual mediterránea tapizante con flores perfumadas a miel, ricas en néctar, para suelos soleados y bien drenados.
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Lobularia maritima — sweet alyssum

Lobularia maritima, known to most gardeners simply as sweet alyssum, is a low, mound-forming annual in the cabbage family (Brassicaceae), grown for its dense heads of tiny, honey-scented flowers. It is the botanical heart of our sweet alyssum range within the flower seed collection.

History & origin

Native to the Mediterranean basin, sweet alyssum grows wild on sandy shores, cliffs and rocky ground across southern Europe and North Africa — an origin that explains its easy tolerance of poor, free-draining soil, drought and salt-laden coastal air. Quick and generous from seed, it spread rapidly into cottage gardens around the world as an edging and carpeting plant.

Its name tells a small botanical story: the genus Lobularia comes from the Greek lobos, "small pod," for its rounded seed capsules, while the species epithet maritima means "of the sea," a nod to its coastal home. Long grouped under Alyssum, it was later given its own genus but kept the familiar common name.

Botanical characteristics

A compact annual usually 8–15 cm high that spreads into a low cushion, it carries rounded clusters of four-petalled flowers in white, pink, lilac and purple, with a distinctive sweet, honeyed scent. Rich in nectar and held over a long season, the blooms are a magnet for bees and hoverflies, earning it a place among our bee-friendly and ground-cover flowers.

Growing Lobularia maritima from seed

Surface-sow the fine seed onto moist, well-drained compost and leave it uncovered, as light aids germination; seedlings appear in one to two weeks at around 15–20°C. Grow in full sun, water sparingly once established, and shear lightly after the first flush to encourage a second. It self-seeds gently where happy. Our flower growing guide and flower sowing calendar cover the timing.

Ready to grow sweet alyssum? Explore the varieties or learn the basics first.

Related categories: Sweet Alyssum · Ground-Cover Flowers · Bee-Friendly Flowers · Drought-Tolerant Flowers · All Flower Seeds

At SeedsChoice, every order ships from Meppel, NL with fast, tracked EU delivery.

¿Cuál es la diferencia entre aliso y Lobularia maritima?
Son la misma planta. Lobularia maritima es el nombre botánico; «aliso de jardín» o «aliso fragante» es su nombre común en jardinería. ¿Es Lobularia maritima anual o perenne?
Generalmente se cultiva como anual de medio exterior, aunque en zonas suaves y sin heladas puede persistir y resembrarse sola. ¿Qué condiciones prefiere?
Pleno sol y tierra ligera con buen drenaje. Gracias a su origen costero, tolera bien el suelo pobre, la sequía y el aerosol salino. ¿Cómo siembro la semilla?
Espárcela sobre la superficie del compost húmedo sin cubrirla, ya que necesita luz para germinar; mantén una temperatura de unos 15–20°C.