Yellow Alyssum (Basket of Gold Plant) Profile: Care & Growing Guide

Yellow Alyssum, also known as Aurinia saxatilis, basket-of-gold, gold basket, gold dust, golden tuft, rock madwort, has clustered, grey-green leaves. Yellow Alyssum is native to sunny regions of central and southern Europe usually on poor rocky soils. Yellow Alyssum forms a dense overlay near the ground, usually planted in rock gardens.

Yellow Alyssum Picture

Characteristics of Yellow Alyssum

The flowers of Yellow Alyssum are small, golden yellow, clustered, and the leaves grey-green. yellow alyssum is native to sunny regions of central and southern Europe usually on poor rocky soils, forming a dense overlay near the ground, usually planted in rock gardens.

Habits of Yellow Alyssum

Yellow Alyssum is suitable for sunny areas and usually grows on barren rocky soils, forming a dense overlay near the ground, usually planted in rock gardens.

Distribution of Yellow Alyssum

Yellow Alyssum is native to Central and South Europe.

How to Care for Yellow Alyssum

Yellow Alyssum Light Requirements

Yellow alyssum does its fine flowering when grown in full sun. However, in warm climates the plant probably will experience some afternoon coloration to forestall the foliage from depreciating.

Best Soil for Yellow Alyssum

Yellow alyssum is common to sandy soil with amazing drainage. It can tolerate shallow and rocky soil. But heavy clay soil or different soil kinds that continue to be moist and drain poorly can motive root rot and kill the plant.

Yellow Alyssum Watering

Yellow alyssum does not require lots of water and prospers in dry soil. In fact, overwatering is one of the few elements that can be lethal to yellow alyssum. Because it has proper drought tolerance, you will probably solely have to water if you have a prolonged length except rainfall and your plant starts to wilt and lose its leaves. New flora in their first developing season want barely extra water than installed plants, however nonetheless be conscious that you do not enable the soil to get soggy. Moreover, if you are developing your yellow alyssum in a container, be specifically cautious no longer to overwater. Wait for the soil to dry out between waterings, and affirm that the container has suitable drainage.

Yellow Alyssum Temperature & Humidity Care

Yellow alyssum has some bloodless tolerance and grows nicely from USDA hardiness zones three to 7. However, it struggles in warm and humid weather. Consequently, in the South many gardeners deal with it as an annual, playing its spring vegetation earlier than the foliage depreciates in the summer time warmth and humidity.

Yellow Alyssum Fertilizer

Fertilizer normally is not quintessential for yellow alyssum until you have very lean soil. Too much fertilizer can result in terrible flowering and a scraggly increase habit. If you wish, you can fertilize each and every different yr in the fall with a low-dose natural fertilizer or compost.

Varieties of Yellow Alyssum

There are countless lovely types of yellow alyssum that range barely in appearance, including:

Aurinia saxatilis 'Citrinum': This is a compact yellow alyssum cultivar, developing around 12 inches to 15 inches tall. It aspects shiny lemon-yellow flowers.

Aurinia saxatilis 'Compactum': This cultivar is a dwarf variety. It has a compact and dense boom habit, attaining round eight inches to 10 inches tall. Its blooms are a daring yellow color.

Aurinia saxatilis 'Dudley Nevill Variegated': This cultivar grows to round 10 inches tall and spreads to round 18 inches wide. It points to a small apricot-yellow plant life and has hairy, soft, gray-green foliage with creamy white margins.

Aurinia saxatilis 'Gold Dust': This yellow alyssum cultivar has a mounding increase habit. It solely reaches around 6 inches to 12 inches tall and spreads to between 1 foot and two toes wide. It additionally sports hairy, soft, gray-green foliage. And in the spring it is closely included in vivid yellow blooms.

How to Propagate Yellow Alyssum

Yellow Alyssum Propagation from Seed

The most suitable sowing time for Yellow Alyssum was in spring, and the germination rate of Yellow Alyssum was 79%. The germination rate of seeds stored for 2 years was 50%, the suitable temperature for germination was 16-18℃, and the germinating days were 21 days. Spring-sown seeds flower in the second spring, but fall-sown seeds do not flower in the second year. 

Yellow Alyssum should be harvested in autumn and the fruit is a biconvex mirror shape of a short pod. Each fruit has 1-6 seeds, seeds oblate round.Used for autumn sowing. Germinate at 15℃ for 2 weeks, and light should be increased during germination. 

Yellow Alyssum Propagation from Division

Yellow Alyssum is suitable for early spring or flower, the root system should be more with soil, otherwise unfavorable to survive. Some varieties bear no seeds and can be cut in spring or early summer.