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Nodding saxifrage

Saxifraga cernua

Also called Bulblet saxifrage, Drooping saxifrage, Drooping Bulbous Saxifrage, Nodding Bulbous Saxifrage

Nodding saxifrage
Photo: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0

Nodding saxifrage is a small, cold-hardy alpine perennial from the Arctic and mountain regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is grown mainly in alpine or rock gardens, and it needs cool conditions and well-drained, moist soil.

Family
Saxifragaceae (Saxifrag family)
Grows as
Bulb
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist in the growing season and never let it dry out completely, but avoid waterlogging.
Soil
Gritty, sandy, well-drained mix with some organic matter.
Temperature
5–20 °C; very cold-hardy, tolerates deep winter cold.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Subarctic & Subalpine Northern Hemisphere
Climate
subalpine or subarctic

About

Saxifraga cernua, the drooping saxifrage, nodding saxifrage or bulblet saxifrage, is a flower common all over the High Arctic. It stretches further south in mountainous areas of the Alps, Norway, Iceland, Siberia, Scotland and Alaska.

It grows to 10–20 cm tall and the stem has 3–7 leaves. The basal and lower stern leaves are kidney-shaped, 3–5 lobed on long petioles. The flowers are mostly single and terminal. Petals are white and are much longer than the sepals. The plant reproduces by means of brownish-red bulbils in the axils of the upper stem leaves. Flowers bloom June to August.

Other Saxifraga plants

Yellow mountain saxifrage · Garden Mossy Saxifrage · Saxifraga aspera · Saxifraga bicuspidata · Spiny Leaf Saxifrage · Yellowdot saxifrage · Mossy Saxifrage · Saxifraga burseriana · Thick Leaved Saxifrage · Saxifraga candelabrum · Tufted saxifrage · Saxifraga cochlearis

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Saxifraga cernua 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.

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