Sweet Alyssum
Lobularia maritima
Family Brassicaceae
Honey — that's what a drift of sweet alyssum smells like, a low white carpet that runs along path edges and spills over pot rims nearly nonstop. It's tiny, unassuming, and quietly one of the hardest-working flowers a vegetable garden can hold.
The secret is who it feeds: hoverflies, whose larvae clear aphids off neighboring crops, plus a steady traffic of bees. Tuck it among tomatoes as a living mulch, let it self-sow along an edge, and you get pest control that looks like a border of lace.
Full Sun to Part Shade
Low water
Fast growth
Attracts bees
None winter chill
From the print shop
Growing sweet alyssum? Hang it.
Our Plant Library collection carries sweet alyssum — Lobularia maritima, print Nº 459, “Sweet Alyssum.”
526 designsfrom $12.99white or black backgroundmatte poster, unframed
Will it thrive where you are?
Enter your ZIP — we look up your USDA hardiness zone (2023 map) and check it against what sweet alyssum actually needs.
Life cycleAnnualSweet Alyssum · Common problems
Common sweet alyssum problems
Pests
1 problem on file
- Almost none
Diseases
1 problem on file
- Almost none
Sweet Alyssum · Growing & propagation
Growing sweet alyssum
- Light
- Full Sun to Part Shade
- Water
- Low-Moderate
Soil- Any well-drained · pH 6.0 - 7.5
Fertilizer- Light
Pruning- Shear lightly mid-season to refresh
A low carpet of tiny honey-scented flowers that blooms nearly nonstop — and it's a secret weapon in the vegetable garden: its flowers are a top food for aphid-eating hoverflies and other beneficial insects, so growers interplant it among crops for natural pest control. It spills beautifully from containers and edges, self-sows, and refreshes with a light shearing after heat. Fragrant and hardworking.
Spacing- 6-8 in
How to plant & propagate sweet alyssum
Maturity- 60 days
From seed- Direct-sow or start
Cool-season; self-sows
- Propagate
- From seed
Sweet Alyssum · Calculators & field guides
A little help in the garden.
Sweet Alyssum · Yearly calendar
The sweet alyssum year, month by month
Jan
No calendar activity is listed for this month.
BloomBloomMarch to May
What each band means
- Bloom — flowers open — pollinators working, frost on blossoms is the danger.
These are the species' typical months — expect them a few weeks earlier in warm zones and later in cold ones. Watch the plant, not just the calendar.
Sweet Alyssum · Ecology & uses
Ecology & uses
Lobularia maritima
Sweet Alyssum in the garden system
- Groundcover layer annual
- Nectary/insectary
- Living mulch
Attracts- Bees
Moisture- Upland / dry
Deer- Browsed
Protect young plants
Origin- Introduced
What sweet alyssum is grown for
✓ Not known to be toxic
Use- Beneficial insects
- Use
- Fragrant edging
- Use
- Living mulch
- Use
- Pollinators
Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.
Sweet Alyssum · Varieties & cultivars
Choosing a sweet alyssum variety
'Snow Crystals' (white); 'Royal Carpet' (purple); 'Snow Princess' (heat-tolerant, sterile, vigorous)
Sources & plant identity
Know what you’re growing.
See where the knowledge comes from.
Sweet Alyssum
Lobularia maritima
The plant, at a glance.
- Botanical name
- Lobularia maritima
- Plant family
- Brassicaceae
- Growth habit
- Annual
- Origin
- Introduced
- USDA plant symbol
- LOMA
- Invasive risk
- Low
Hardiness, size and timing vary with your cultivar, soil and climate.
Rooted in research.
University extension research, brought together with hands-on growing experience at Story Thyme Farms.
Questions
Sweet Alyssum questions, answered straight.
Is sweet alyssum safe for kids and pets?
Sweet Alyssum is commonly eaten and isn't considered toxic, but "commonly eaten" isn't a guarantee for any particular person or animal — allergies, quantity, and which part you eat all matter. Never eat a plant you haven't positively identified, and check with a vet before letting pets or livestock graze anything new.
How do you propagate sweet alyssum?
From seed.
Elsewhere
Where sweet alyssum sits in the library.
Nasturtium
Juniper
Blue Fescue
Hens and Chicks