When it comes to adding new plants to your garden or expanding the ones you already have, you’ve usually got a few options. While starting seeds can sometimes feel like a high-stakes science experiment, False Rockcress (Aubrieta) is a total game-changer. It’s one of those rare plants where direct sowing outdoors is almost always a guaranteed success.
Let Nature Do the Heavy Lifting
If you’re looking to propagate the Aubrieta already growing in your yard, you might not even have to lift a finger. If you’re a fan of that effortless, natural look where plants wander through the garden as they please, just let the plant go to seed on its own. The trick? Don’t be too quick with the garden shears. Leave those faded flowers alone instead of pruning them back. Even if you only leave a handful of spent blooms to mature, the plant will happily drop its own seeds and keep the cycle going.
Sowing Directly in the Garden
Don’t have any Aubrieta yet? No problem! You can easily start from scratch by sowing seeds directly into your landscape. These little beauties aren’t picky—they’ll thrive in traditional flower beds, but they really shine when tucked into dry stone walls, rocky borders, or even the tiny cracks between pavers. Just be sure to wait until May to head outside; you want to make sure the threat of a hard frost has passed so the seeds can germinate safely. To give them the best start, keep the soil consistently moist for the first few weeks after planting.
Getting a Head Start Indoors
If you’re feeling a little impatient (we’ve all been there!), you can start your seeds indoors as early as April. Grab some starter pots and find a sunny windowsill. The big perk of indoor “pre-growing” is that once you transplant them outside in May, there’s a much better chance you’ll see those gorgeous blooms in the very first year.
Here’s the quick cheat sheet for sowing Aubrieta:
- Outdoors: Wait until May.
- Indoors: Start in pots during April for earlier blooms.
- Low Maintenance: Let the plant self-seed for effortless spreading.
