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Aurinia saxatilis
Also called Gold-dust, Golden Alyssum, Goldentuft Alyssum, Goldentuft Madwort, Rock Madwort, Golden Tuft Alyssum, Golden Tuft Madwort
Basket of gold is a small, rounded, evergreen perennial from rocky mountain country in central Europe and the northern Balkans, forming a mound of gold flowers in spring. It needs full sun and very fast-draining soil to thrive.
Aurinia saxatilis (syns Alyssum saxatile, Alyssum saxatile var. compactum) is an ornamental plant native to Asia and Europe.
Since its natural habitat is rocky, mountainous country, it is ideal for a rock garden, for dry, sloping ground, or for edging garden beds, provided the drainage is excellent. It is also ideally suited for troughs and the edges of large pots, perhaps containing a shrub. Although perennial, some gardeners grow is as part of an annual spring display. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. It has also been selected as one of the "RHS Plants for Pollinators" which "provide nectar and pollen for bees and the many other types of pollinating insects." Following a "rigorous trial and assessment programme" the RHS determined it to be robust, with both colour and form as "stable". It is largely pest and disease-resistant.
Several cultivars are available: 'Citrina', with paler yellow blooms than the ordinary form; 'Dudley Neville' with golden yellow or tan-tinged blooms sometimes described as "biscuit"; and 'Variegata' with cream-margined leaves.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Aurinia saxatilis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
