Find a plant:

Printer Friendly Add to My Favorites Pin It

Cerastium tomentosum (Snow-in-summer)

Photo/Illustration: Todd Meier

(Based on 2 user reviews)

Rate this plant

Plant Showcase - from our advertisers

Hardiness Zones:

Botanical Name: Cerastium tomentosum sir-ASS-tee-um toe-men-TOE-sum

Common Name: Snow-in-summer Genus: Cerastium

Snow-in-summer is great for rock gardens and dry areas, and also works well as a container plant. Plant it on a stone wall for a cascading effect. Snow-in-summer needs room to perform. A single plant can carpet an area as wide as a yard across. After the flowers fade, the silver/grey foliage shines on in contrast to more predictable shades of green.
Noteworthy characteristics: These plants can be short-lived.
Care: Plant in a sunny spot in well-drained soil.
Propagation:

Sow seeds in spring indoors or after last frost, divide plants in spring or autumn, or sow seeds in autumn after last frost.

Problems:

No serious problems other than root rot.

Overview
User Reviews
Photos

Height	Less than 6 in.
Spread	6 in. to 12 in.
Growth Habit	Spreads
Growth Pace	Invasive/Aggressive Grower;Moderate Grower
Light	Full Sun Only
Moisture	Dry
Maintenance	Moderate
Tolerance	Drought Tolerant
Characteristics	Showy Flowers
Bloom Time	Early Summer; Late Spring; Spring; Summer
Foliage Color	Silver/Grey
Flower Color	White Flower
Uses	Beds and Borders, Container, Ground Covers
Style	Rock Garden
Seasonal Interest	Spring Interest, Summer Interest
Type	Perennials

Rate this plant

posted by northerngrl
7/20/2010
Region: Upper Plains
Zone: 3

In our garden this plant was immediately colonized by millions of ants and ultimately became an eight inch high flowering ant hill. Initially I thought this was our problem (we do have lots of ants in our neighborhood). However, I have since noticed that there are frequently massive ant hills beneath clumps of cerastium in gardens all over the city. I would avoid it.

posted by judgehort
1/27/2010
Region: Northeast
Zone: 7

Here is another plant that strikes terror in the mind of an experienced gardener. I had to root out and burn wheelbarrow-loadsful of Cerastium when I bought a property and tamed the garden of a previous owner. It is a pretty plant but of use only in a very wild garden, if at all.

Click on a thumbnail to see a full sized image

Plants you might also like

Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'Firewitch'
(Cheddar pink)

(2 user reviews)

Hardiness Zones:

Silvery-blue mats of evergreen, linear foliage. Well-known and loved for the showy, profuse, single, magenta blooms, spring-fall. 'Firewitch' exudes the spicy scent of cloves. Very hardy; good performer. Moderate to fast grower. Heat resistant and tolerant of humidity. Excellent for use in containers, as an edger, in rock gardens, scented gardens and the front of the border. If cut back, they often rebloom in early fall. Considered deer resistant once established. Attracts butterflies! Very suitable for gardens in the South. -Santa Rosa Gardens

Hemerocallis 'Blackeyed Stella'
(Daylily) Be the first to rate this plant

Hardiness Zones:

Daylilies are classic, extremely popular garden plants. They feature long, arching, strappy leaves and long stems of generally 6-petaled flowers, though double flowers are popular as well. Each flower lasts only one day, hence the plant’s common name. Daylilies come in a wide range of colors, from cream and cheery yellow to peach, orange, fiery red, deep burgundy, pink, and purple. Some have contrasting throats and "eye-zones." Daylilies are ideal for a mixed herbaceous perennial border.

Corydalis lutea
(Yellow corydalis)

(3 user reviews)

Hardiness Zones:

This species has bluntly spurred golden yellow flowers from late spring to early fall. Its pale green, glaucous leaves form compact, ferny mounds.

Dianthus deltoides
(Maiden pink)

(1 user review)

Hardiness Zones:

This mat-forming species with dark green leaves is one of the easiest to grow. Blossoms range from white to red and are usually single and without fragrance. Use as bedding or in rock gardens.