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Saponaria ocymoides
Also called Tumbling Ted
Rock soapwort is a low, spreading semi-evergreen perennial from southern Europe, grown for its pink or red flowers in rock gardens and on dry walls. It needs sharp drainage and full sun, and it dislikes wet roots in winter.
Saponaria ocymoides, the rock soapwort or tumbling Ted, is a species of semi-evergreen perennial flowering plant belonging to the family Caryophyllaceae, native to south western and southern central Europe.
Saponaria ocymoides is cultivated as an ornamental plant for rock gardens and dry stone walls, in well-drained alkaline or neutral soil in full sun. Like most alpine plants it dislikes winter wetness around its roots. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
This species ranges from the mountains of Spain to Corsica, Sardinia and Slovenia, from the Apennines to the Alps. It grows in rocky and stony places, dry slopes and forests (especially pine forests). It prefers calcareous (alkaline) soils, at an elevation of up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft), rarely up to 2,400 metres (7,900 ft).
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Saponaria ocymoides 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.
