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Gypsophila paniculata
Also called Bachelor's Button, Tall Baby's Breath, Perennial Baby's Breath, Babysbreath, Babysbreath Gypsophila, Baby’s Breath, Common Gypsophila
Baby's breath is a hardy herbaceous perennial that forms airy mounds of tiny white flowers in summer, grown widely in gardens and cut-flower arrangements. Its key to success is full sun and very well-drained, alkaline to neutral soil.
Gypsophila paniculata, the baby's breath, common gypsophila or panicled baby's-breath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to central and eastern Europe. It is an herbaceous perennial growing to 1.2 m (4 ft) tall and wide, with mounds of branching stems covered in clouds of tiny white flowers in summer (hence the common name "baby's breath"). Another possible source of this name is its scent, which has been described as sour milk, like a baby's "spit-up". Its natural habitat is on the Steppes in dry, sandy and stony places, often on calcareous soils (gypsophila = "chalk-loving"). Specimens of this plant were first sent to Linnaeus from St. Petersburg by the Swiss-Russian botanist Johann Amman.
It is a popular ornamental garden subject, and thrives in well-drained alkaline to neutral soils in full sun. Numerous cultivars have been selected, of which 'Rosenschleier' (with pale pink double flowers) has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Gypsophila paniculata is toxic to humans, and can cause contact dermatitis.
Showy baby's-breath · Creeping baby's-breath · Baby's-breath
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Gypsophila paniculata 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.
