Alpines are small and highly collectable plants, producing exquisite little flowers in a range of vibrant colours.

Alpine plants include a wide range of plant types that can be considered alpines as they thrive in an alpine climate. Growing at high elevation and above the tree line, alpines are easy-to-grow hardy plants, surviving cold winters and sunny, often dry summers.

Requiring very well-drained soil, alpines are particularly suitable for containers and rock gardens, and being compact plants, are ideal for small sunny gardens or outdoor spaces, creating a cheerful display all year round.

Everybody should grow these charming, beautiful plants but watch out – they’re very addictive!

Caring for Alpines

Alpines generally prefer sunny spots with good air circulation - and excellent drainage is crucial. When planting up, mix at least 50% of horticultural grit with the compost to ensure good drainage.

As with all plants, water thoroughly after planting but once established, alpines require less watering than other plants. Top dress the soil with grit or gravel to prevent soil splash and to keep the crowns of the plants dry.

Alpines struggle in excessively damp, water-logged soil; if possible, you may wish to provide some protection from the rain in wet winters. Protection can be provided with cloches, frames or glasshouses – remembering that although you’re protecting the alpines from rain they must still have light and good air circulation.

As alpines are naturally adapted to harsh, nutrient-poor environments they generally don’t need to be fed – but if grown in small containers, we recommend giving them a light, slow-release, low-nitrogen feed in the spring.

Remove any weeds regularly to prevent them from overwhelming the compact alpine plants.

Our Favourites

It’s hard to select just a few of these jewel-like, beautiful plants as our favourites, but it had to be done!

Armeria maritima (Sea Thrift) – a popular evergreen perennial alpine, much loved for its long-stalked, dense clusters of small cup-shaped flowers in vibrant colours of pink, white or reddish-purple. Flowers for months and months, sometimes from spring almost right through to autumn. Deadhead regularly to prolong blooming. Tolerating salt-laden winds, Armeria is often found growing on sea cliffs, resulting in its common name of Sea Thrift.

Rhodohypoxis – small, clump-forming, perennial alpine with numerous star-shaped flowers in summer in white, pink, red or purple. Ideal for growing as ground cover in sun, as well as in containers and rock gardens for alpine displays. Prefers neutral to acidic soil. Protect from excessive winter wet.

Lewisia cotyledon – a rosette-forming hardy evergreen perennial alpine plant with fleshy, strap-shaped leaves and clusters of flowers in shades of pink, purple, orange and yellow. Flowers in spring and summer, a wonderfully cheerful addition to any alpine plant collection.

Sedum spurium – one of the smaller of the large Sedum family of plants, this alpine is a vigorous, mat-forming, semi-evergreen perennial with fleshy leaves and star-shaped, pink or white flowers in late summer. Benefits from trimming back after flowering to maintain the shape and control growth. Due to its spreading nature, it makes excellent groundcover in mixed borders as well as in alpine containers and rock gardens.

Sempervivum – impossible to resist, these hardy succulent alpines come in literally hundreds of different variations, colours and sizes. Sempervivum means 'always alive' – a reference to the fact that houseleeks tolerate extreme temperatures and drought. Much loved for their distinctive rosettes of succulent, spirally patterned foliage, Sempervivums also bear attractive flowers from spring to summer. Each rosette is a separate plant which flowers once and then dies - but is soon replaced by the growth of other new rosettes which can be separated and planted up to form new clumps.