Tufted saxifrage is a small, densely tufted alpine perennial from cold mountain and arctic habitats, growing on ledges and gravelly ground. It needs cool conditions, good drainage and full sun to thrive.
Family
Saxifragaceae (Saxifrag family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Full sun
Water
Water when the top of the soil dries out, but never let it sit wet, especially in winter.
Soil
Gritty, fast-draining mix such as sand, grit and a little humus.
Temperature
5–20 °C; very cold-hardy and tolerates frost well, but dislikes heat above about 25 °C.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Subarctic to W. & WC. U.S.A., Maine
Climate
temperate
About
Saxifraga cespitosa, the tufted alpine saxifrage or tufted saxifrage, is a species of flowering plant common to many arctic heights. It appears further south in mountainous areas of the Alps, Norway, Scotland, Wales, Iceland, Siberia, western North America and Greenland.
Densely tufted from a stout taproot, the plant has very short stems with withered, dead leaves at the base. The leaves have three to five lobes; both leaves and calyx exhibit trichomes in the form of glandular hair. Flowering stems range from 5–10 cm, with one or two flowers per stem. Its petals are white, twice the length of the calyx lobes. Smaller specimens, with shorter stems and smaller, yellowish-greenish petals (with uniflorous variants), are rather frequent.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Saxifraga cespitosa 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.