Helianthemum Nummularium

Description

This attractive, evergreen, trailing plant has loose terminal clusters of bright yellow, saucer-shaped flowers, with a tight cluster of orange stamens which are sensitive to the touch and spread outwards. Long-lived and easy to grow, it thrives in a dry, sunny place such as a south-facing rockery when it will produce a continuing mass of flowers through the summer. It is a most important plant to nature lovers being attractive to bees and other pollinating insects, but in the wild, especially the Brown Argus, Green Hairstreak and blue butterfly caterpillars, and also the Wood Tiger Moth caterpillar. Also used as a natural medicine, it is used as a constituent of Bach flower remedies, when it is used to treat panic, stress, extreme fright or fear, and anxiety, and for promoting calmness and relaxation.

Sowing Advice

Seeds can be sown at any time but are best sown in winter or early spring to benefit from a cold spell in the wet compost to break their dormancy. We advise covering seeds very thinly with sand or fine grit to about the depth of the seed size. If the seeds do not come up within 6 to 12 weeks the damp seed tray can be given cold treatment in a fridge for about four weeks. They may still take very many months to appear, so please never discard the pot or tray.

Key Facts