Candytuft Plant Care: How to Grow & What To Know (Iberis Sempervirens)

In this video, I share everything you need to know to grow Candytuft - a gorgeous evergreen perennial that is covered with pretty white flowers in Spring. I’ll start with why you want Candytuft in your garden, then move on to growing requirements, seeds and seedlings, dividing, propagating, and pruning; the growth rate and spread; plus why your Candytuft might be struggling. And finally: Candytuft varieties and where to buy them. Please use the Chapter headings below to jump to a specific section.
Chapters:
0:00 - What is Candytuft?
0:51 - Why you want Candytuft in your garden!
2:53 - Candytuft is deer and rabbit resistant
3:12 - Growing requirements and how to plant
6:21 - Seeds and seedlings
7:12 - Can you divide Candytuft plants?
7:38 - How to propagate Candytuft
8:05 - Pruning
8:34 - How fast does Candytuft grow?
9:10 - How fast does Candytuft spread?
9:26 - Why is my Candytuft turning yellow?
10:11 - Candytuft varieties
10:34 - Where to buy
❤️ Please hit the like button - and subscribe - if this video was helpful to you! ❤️
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🍃 CANDYTUFT VARIETIES 🍃
This is an incomplete list, but should get you started!
🤍 Purity - compact variety blooming in late Spring
🤍 Alexander’s White - like Purity, has pure white flowers
🤍 Snowflake - very showy profusion of small white blooms in late Spring and early Summer
🤍 Summer Snowdrift - supposedly blooms throughout Spring and Summer
🤍 Snow Cushion - a dwarf version of an already adorable plant
🤍 Whiteout - an improved selection with more uniform flowering - early to late Spring
🤍 Little Gem - only 8 inches tall, but spreads to 24 inches
🤍 Snowball - bigger flowers and tighter habit
🤍 Snowsation - another larger flower variety on tidy mounded plants
🤍 Iberis Pink Ice - the first pink variety
🤍 Absolutely Amethyst - purple flowers dotted with tiny yellow stamens - flowers later Spring and early Summer
🤍 First Flush Lavender Candytuft - light purple flowers supposedly from early Spring into Fall
🤍 Masterpiece - unusually large white blooms with a pink center (supposedly from Spring to early Autumn)
🤍 Autumn Beauty - has a second blooming in Fall
🤍 October Glory - second blooming same as Autumn Beauty
#candytuft #springflowers #gardensanity

[@riffroot]

I so appreciate your videos, thank you! Concise, informative, natural, and I can actually hear you since, unlike too many others, you don't bury your voice under music. Your garden is beautiful - thanks for sharing your expertise!

[@GardenSanity]

Well thank you for making my morning with your feedback on my videos! 🩷 I try to make videos that I want to watch, i.e. clear audio, up close visuals as well as year-round photos, and helpful information that isn't confusing . . . at least that's always my goals! 😊

[@elizabethescher5445]

In Seattle rock gardens, a combination of Candytuft, Aurinia saxtile (Basket of Gold), Rockcress (Aubrieta) and Moss Phlox are used to create colorful drought tolerant spring gardens. This was a great introduction to these beautiful, hardy ground covers...

[@GardenSanity]

Oh my Elizabeth, that flower combination sounds beautiful and wonderfully colorful! 💛🤍💜💕 Thanks so much for sharing it here! 🤍

[@pattijacobs100]

I always look forward to their spring blooms! They last a good while and put on quite a show! Thank you for all the information.

[@GardenSanity]

Me too Patti! 🤍 I love the build-up of the flowers...first a few, then more and more until everything is white! And yes, it's so great the color isn't over quickly. I just wish I planted later-blooming daffodils next to them, because the ones I planted are usually finished (early-blooming ones) by the time Candytuft blooms in my zone. 🌼🌼

[@pattijacobs100]

I'm in southern PA, a few miles from the MD border. I've had a few blooms all winter! We've had so many warm spells! I have creeping pink phlox next to my Candytuft. It blooms with the Candytuft. The phlox is so aggressive that I have to keep digging it up and finding places to use it. It wants to smother other plants! @@GardenSanity

[@GardenSanity]

@@pattijacobs100 I'd love seeing some early blooms on my Candytuft! 🥰I had some last year in February, and this year my plants have a lot of buds now. The phlox/Candytuft combo sounds pretty, and reminds me yet again that every Spring I see phlox and wonder why I don't have it planted in my own gardens. I need to fix this! 😀 I'm tagging another gardener @CA-rx9ze who left a comment that she had blooms at Christmas time this year! My fingers are crossed for her that she will still enjoy a full Spring show!

[@annakasikkink7489]

I have some candytuft planted under a lilac. They've been wonderful companions. They both like alkaline soil (which is not at all our natural soil) so I amend that area. I'm thinking of adding a clematis to grow up the lilac this year as it's gotten a lot bigger.

[@GardenSanity]

Oh that sounds like such a pretty combination! 👍 And adding a clematis would be magical! 🤍💕

[@elizknight8262]

Nice video. Clear and concise and thorough. Good delivery: fast and easy to understand. I love candytuft but have to keep it fenced from the deer.

[@missprettyplants7217]

Another great video Laura! I have the white candy tuft and I love it! Also planted the pink ice one last year - excited to see it bloom this year. I did have some sporadic blooms on my white one in Jan as we had an unusually warm winter. 😊

[@GardenSanity]

Thanks so much Priti! 😊 I can't wait to see your Pink Ice blooming so I hope you're able to film it! 🤞💕Yes I saw a couple of white flowers open last week, but then we had more snow and freezing temps, so who knows what time of year these plants think it is! 😂

[@DnCnSophia]

Ty so so much for this video! Introduced me to candytuft! Will plant this as a border!!❤❤❤

[@GardenSanity]

You're very welcome, and I hope you enjoy your Candytuft for many years to come! 😀🤍

[@lindapearson3340]

Thank you so much for this video. I am going to buy some Candytuft for my garden this year. Last year I was to late and everyone was sold out but this year I am going to go early to get some. Love your channel.

[@GardenSanity]

My pleasure Linda! 😊 The same thing happened to me years ago and I was too late to buy Candytuft, so I can relate. Hope you find some this year! 🤞🤍

[@GrandmaSandy]

Hi my dear friend thanks so much for another great video

[@GardenSanity]

My pleasure Sandy -- so glad you enjoyed it! 🤍 😊

[@chrismarchetti-olson6632]

You had me hooked on it last year and I divided them at the end of summer. I cannot wait to see what they will look like so thank you my dearest enabler friend! 😂😂😂. Wonderful video as always. Thank you 🌸

[@GardenSanity]

You are quite welcome Chris! 😊 How did they divide for you? I’ve not personally tried it, but have read repeatedly that they don’t divide well.

[@chrismarchetti-olson6632]

@@GardenSanity I will let you know in a few months….. at least I left a lot of the mother plants just in case. As soon as spring comes and they bloom ( spring in Wisconsin aka July 😂😂😂) I will let you know right away. Imagine the possibilities if we find out they divide perfectly……. Oh boy I can just see every spot in between plants occupied 😂😂😂

[@GardenSanity]

@chrismarchetti-olson6632 I watched a dividing video and the gardener said use elbow grease and was really working at dividing the Candytuft clumps. So I was just curious if you had successfully tackled them into nice divisions. 😀 I had the same idea you’re suggesting with sticking them everywhere - but ran into the harsh sun problem I showed in the video. It wasn’t pretty. 😂🤣

[@chrismarchetti-olson6632]

@@GardenSanity if you have one of those garden knives with the one serrated edge ( can’t think of the name) it’s like cutting through butter. Each piece I divided had a ton of roots and it’s not tougher than a hosta as far as dividing…… now whether they will actually grow….. I will know at some point. Mine are in part sun and they did really well last year. I cannot wait for them to look like yours…… so full and gorgeous. If I messed mine up, you know I’ll get more. That goes without saying for those of us with CHAD: compulsive horticultural acquisition disorder 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@GardenSanity]

@@chrismarchetti-olson6632 Wow -- CHAD -- I love it! 🤣 Hori Hori knife is what you're using. 👍 I'm so interested to know how yours do and I hope they do great after dividing! It won't take long for them to be nice and full! 🤍🤞

[@ToadsRosesGarden]

I have one clump by my driveway for a year i was surprised it’s still green in winter in zone 4b. I love the flower but only in spring then no more bloom but it’s adding some winter interest for my garden :)

[@GardenSanity]

I totally agree with you about the Winter interest! 😀 When it’s in full bloom in Spring, there’s nothing quite like it! 🤍

[@lianagilbert61]

zone 8b central texas. i love candytuft and the idea of having evergreen interest in winter is great. but i have tried it both in part shade, and in amongst some other plants and it just can't make it through our summers. i have clay soil that is amended on top (no dig) and i use plant tone. i have drip irrigation, but we are only allowed to use it 2 days a week. i will try planting in late fall like strawberries. i can't grow hydrangeas, peonies, or phlox, and dahlias don't do well.

[@tvwatcher3]

Love your videos. Would you do one about pruning your crepe myrtle ? I have one just like that.Thank you .

[@GardenSanity]

Thank you! 😊 I actually don't prune my crepe myrtle tree! 😃You don't have to, other than to A) remove any dead branches or crossing branches that are rubbing against each other; B) limb the tree up, if you want to give yourself and your plants more room underneath. You would remove the lowest branches. (We limbed ours up two years ago.) By the way, the seedpods remaining from the flowers will fall off on their own. And crepe myrtles flower whether pruned or not. Some years our tree flowers like crazy, and other years not as much, but I just leave it alone -- especially now that it has grown so tall. (Some people will prune their crepe myrtles like crazy every Fall, leaving just some sticks for the Winter season. It's called "crepe murder" for a reason, as the resulting growth will be weaker and won't hold the flowers as well.) If you want to remove the remaining seed pods for appearance, you can prune those off providing you can easily reach. I fertilize in Spring with Espoma Holly-tone worked into the soil around the tree, and that's it! I hope this helps!

[@tvwatcher3]

Thank you so much !!! Yes, I only see crape murder around the neighborhood , I really appreciate your advice.

[@GardenSanity]

@@tvwatcher3 You're most welcome! I think the crape murder makes the trees look like coat racks during the Winter season! 🤣

[@lewistillett206]

I’m just getting into gardening, have clay soil which i believe is low quality. The video says never add in compost the same time you are planting, so digging a hole in that soil, adding in the compost and then transplanting seedlings that way isn’t a good idea?

[@yajboi303]

I'm testing out growing candytuft in a container right now as I'm getting my landscape done. The flowers are entirely white, but this week, I'm noticing some are turning into a light pink color. Is this a sign of disease, over or underwatering by chance? Or something else?

[@Ruben14Elias]

I have candytuft next to lavender in full sun on zone 8. And I see that I've been loosing the flowers. Any idea why?

[@agjko]

Can i grow candytuft in summer under green net??

[@zlatamontgomery1593]

I’m love this flowers. Very much. .., but never see in the box store. Hm. I’m Gina look. For seeds Florida

[@carleanr4051]

Does it have a sweet smell like alyssum?

[@rebeccasewing]

Do you have a source for candytuft seeds? The sources you gave seem to only sell live plants. I checked sellers on Amazon but most of them got mediocre reviews or poor reviews.

[@GardenSanity]

Hi Rebecca -- you're right that it seems there's not much Candytuft available seed-wise right now. However, I did some searching and found a nice heirloom white variety available at Eden Brothers, which appears to be a reputable company: www.edenbrothers.com/collections/candytuft_seed I see they're based in North Carolina. I have seed catalog recommendations here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGWod2lvnM-hhdk (But I just checked each one, and there isn't anyone with white Candytuft...although some places seem to offer a lavender variety.) I hope this helps! 😀

[@rebeccasewing]

Thank you! Appreciate your response and the links. Have a good weekend.

[@kristywhited8857]

No rabbits here, but deer have eaten mine to the ground. Planted around my mailbox. It's still alive and it will be interesting to see if it bounces back in the spring. But I assume no blooms in spring, since it will be struggling to reestablish itself. I'm so disappointed.

[@jeangurnee]

Bummer. I was wondering if real world deer would eat these. Now I have to find a better spot :D

[@GardenSanity]

Oh Kristy, that’s such a shame. ☹️ It’s possible the flower buds are gone, but if you look at the plants close up you should be able to see if there’s any left. I hope the plant recovers. 🤞

[@GardenSanity]

Sometimes deer will eat anything - especially in Winter - if their usual food sources aren’t available. Same with rabbits who ate my Yucca plants a few years back even though Yucca is toxic to them. ☹️

[@CA-rx9ze]

Mine oddly bloomed lightly from January to beginning End of January. Not sure if it will have energy for spring bloom?

[@GardenSanity]

Wow! What zone are you in? Last year, I had flowers starting in mid-February! Here’s hoping you’ll still enjoy a full bloom this Spring. 🤞🤍

[@ruthtorphy2204]

May be cut down after flowering to give it energy.

[@CA-rx9ze]

I meant December to end of January. I do not always type well. We just had snow last week is it to early to cut back with cold weather?

[@GardenSanity]

What zone are you in? That will help me answer your question, as depending where you are located it may not be a good idea to cut it back just yet.

[@GardenSanity]

You are correct Ruth, and I cover that in this video and in a separate pruning video. 👍 I just don’t want anyone cutting back before the major blooming occurs in Spring, otherwise flower buds are removed.

[@gothmamafreedom]

thank you for such an informative and thorough video. I’ve always just thought candy tuft was a type of allysum. :D

[@GardenSanity]

You're welcome! They do look similar and since they're in the same family of plants, it makes sense. (And that's why I always call Candytuft "Allysum on Steroids!" 🤣

[@willaerley7140]

Speaking of mulch. Last year, I divided a bunch of perennials for my friend at work. To my dismay, I found that he had used rubber mulch everywhere. Yup. Ground up tires. 🫣 Do you think the plants will do ok? Maybe, just use extra plant tone?

[@GardenSanity]

Please no.😮 How did you react upon learning this? Rubber mulch is not good for plants. It heats up in the Summer, making the soil warmer than it already is. It leaches chemicals into the soil that could harm plants, and it doesn't provide anything beneficial to the soil because it won't ever break down because it isn't organic. But you know all this already...I'm just typing this out for anyone who might not be familiar with it. ☹ I'm shaking my head because my advice would be to remove it from the gardens, at least let the plants and soil breathe, maybe keeping it just as an edging border? My advice is to remove it. But I'm guessing that's not possible. Not sure if extra Plant-tone will help. I hope you keep me posted on this one! Wow! 😱

[@willaerley7140]

@@GardenSanity Yeah, exactly. 😱 20 bags of it. It was hard to keep it from getting in the soil as we were planting. I guess we’ll see. It’s mostly hydrangeas, grasses, coneflowers, and ko roses. Year 1 of the experiment.

[@GardenSanity]

@@willaerley7140 Oh my. I think I would have begun twitching in angst! Good luck...especially to your work friend!