Lobularia maritima ‘Inlbusnopc’ is a new sweet alyssum that retains the sweet honey scent, while being an extremely fast growing plant and continues blooming well into fall. The trademark name, Snow Princess, has quickly become the recognized name for this sweet alyssum plant that has proven itself out in the field, withstanding summer heat in Florida’s July and light frosts in zone 5 of central Ohio.
New Winner in Plant Competitions
Plant professionals and enthusiasts are always on the look out for new plant varieties and hybrids gardeners will want to grow in the home garden. Plant characteristics tested at a trial garden often include length of bloom times, weather tolerance for climate extremes and speed of plant growth.
Lobularia Snow Princess™ was a winner in many plant competitions and trial gardens in 2009. Among the variety of plant trials this new sweet alyssum was successful at were:
- Gold Medal winner at Innovert® Competition for plant professionals at the Salon du Végétal in France.
- Top Performer in the categories of Growers and Consumers at Ohio State University Trial Gardens in Columbus, Ohio, in the United States.
- Best Innovation Award Winner at the plants and technology trade fair, IPM Essen, in Germany.
This sweet alyssum hybrid is a sterile plant, meaning it was grown from vegetative cuttings not from seed. Plant breeder Peter Wicki developed Lobularia maritima ‘Inlbusnopc’ which is now sold by Proven Winners.
Snow Princess™ thrived in gardens but like all sweet alyssum, slowed down during summer heat and required adequate amounts of water. Gardeners would not include sweet alyssum in dry gardens, for example.
Growing Sweet Alyssum
Gardeners of all skill levels find annual sweet alyssum easy to grow. Garden edging along a walkway, draping over a hanging basket or added to a mixed border are some of the ways this plant is often used. Sweet alyssum is an inexpensive added benefit to a scented garden.
This annual plant should be grown in full to part sun where soil drains well. Although Lobularia tolerates a wide range of soil types amending the soil so it does not remain wet for long periods is important for plants to thrive.
The sweet alyssum plant has linear fine textured leaves that are gray-green. Each cluster is made up of individual flowers on thin pedicels. Popular cultivars of Lobularia include:
- L. ‘Carpet of Snow’ that have dwarf white flowers. The plant grows to 4” tall.
- L. ‘Easter Bonnet’ is a compact plant with flowers of pink, violet and white mixed.
Garden readers interested in more new plants will want to read about coleus tested at a new trial garden.
Permission for all photos used in this article.
Chris Eirschele - Chris writes on plants grown and gardens explored; she is a member of the Garden Writers Association.
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