Arabis or rock cress: white flowers, planting and care

Updated on 22 September 2026Published on 6 April 2019

An arabis alpina shrub in full bloom covered in small white flowers.

Delicate white flowers open over a long spell in spring, low enough to carpet a rockery or edge a bed: this is alpine rock-cress (Arabis alpina). Easy to grow, it asks chiefly for light, well-drained soil — sandy ground suits it perfectly — and rewards that with a spring-long sheet of bloom.

Arabis at a glance
Name	Arabis alpina
Family	Brassicaceaa or Cruciferae
Type	perennial
Height	12 inches (30 cm)
Exposure	full sun
Soil	light, well-drained
Foliage	evergreen
Flowering	mid-spring to early summer

Caring for it is easy and the ornamental properties of this plant make it perfect as ground cover, for rock ground or along edges.

Planting and sowing arabis

Young arabis flower shrub — Sandy, well-drained soil suits arabis best

Arabis loves well drained soil types and grows very well in sandy soil.

It likes very sunny spots but tolerates light shade.

How to plant an arabis

Planting arabis is best either in spring or fall.

Remember to water regularly at the beginning if you’re planting in spring and even more so in summer.

Propagate by transferring young plants that appear along the runners.

Sowing arabis

The sowing of Arabis is best performed in spring.

Sow in a sheltered place while avoiding direct sun.

Caring for arabis

Arabis makes for very easy growing and care. Simply checking back its growth from time to time is generally enough to avoid it spreading too far.

Remove wilted flowers regularly if you wish but this step isn’t really necessary.

Since the foliage is evergreen, it isn’t very useful to cut it back after the blooming.

Pests and diseases on arabis

As regards pests, you might encounter that nightmare of vegetable patch growers, the cabbage caterpillar. However, on your arabis, it won’t do much else than munch on leaves.

Go easy on feeding: arabis thrives in lean, gritty, well-drained soil, and overly rich ground or extra nitrogen tends to encourage soft, floppy leafy growth rather than compact, tidy plants.
On variegated forms such as Arabis procurrens ‘Variegata’, cut out any all-green shoots at their base as soon as you spot them, or the plain growth will take over the clump.

Which arabis to plant: common garden varieties

Garden arabis is sold under a handful of reliable names, most of them white but a few pink. Choose on flower colour, height and where you mean to use the plant.

Which arabis to plant: common garden varieties
Variety	Flower colour	Height	Best for
‘Variegata’	White	6 in (15 cm)	Year-round foliage interest
Arabis procurrens ‘Variegata’	White	4 in (10 cm)	Ground cover, tolerates light shade
‘Snowcap’	Pure white	6 in (15 cm)	Edging and rockery carpets
‘Compinkie’	Deep pink	6 in (15 cm)	Rock gardens and gravel

Double and variegated Arabis cultivars won’t come true from seed, so increase those by division or cuttings; some named Arabis, however, are seed strains bred to reproduce reliably from saved seed.
Spacing for a solid groundcover mat depends on the species’ mature spread and growth rate, so check the plant tag or a reliable guide rather than assuming a standard one-foot interval.

All there is to know about the arabis

arabis flower — A picked cluster keeps up to a week

The name “Arabis” was coined by the botanist Carl Von Linne. He saw the match between the desert sand of Arabia and the sand in which this plant thrived so well.

This plant will be particularly appealing along the edges of a flower bed, in a garden box, and also in rocky ground and atop a dirt mound.

It receives the gleeful visits of our friends the bees and is advantageously paired with bellflower and Aubretia.

Just like Iberis, it is sometimes called “silver basket” for its abundant white blooming.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does arabis flower, and for how long?

Arabis flowers from mid-spring to early summer, so the display runs right through spring. The blooms are small and delicate, and white in the species. That long run of white is why the plant earns its keep at the front of a bed.

Should I cut arabis back after it has flowered?

There is no need. The foliage is evergreen, so shearing it down after blooming simply removes the cover you want to keep through winter. Removing spent flowers as they fade is optional, and a light check on its spread from time to time is generally all the plant asks for.

How do you propagate arabis?

The easiest route is to lift and transfer the young plants that appear along the runners, since the clump spreads by itself. Sowing is the other option and is best done in spring, in a sheltered place out of direct sun.

Does arabis need watering in summer?

Established alpine rock-cress needs no summer watering at all, which makes it a genuinely water-thrifty choice. Watering only matters at the start: water regularly after planting in spring, and more so if the weather turns hot.

Smart tip about arabis

Alpine rock-cress doesn’t need any watering in summer… this scores points for saving water and for our planet, too!

If you pick a cluster of flowers and rest it in a glass of water, it will hold for up to a week.

Credits for images shared to Nature & Garden (all edits by Gaspard Lorthiois):
Large arabis shrub by Col & Tasha Ford & de Vere ★ under © CC BY 2.0
Young arabis clump by Andrey Zharkikh ★ under © CC BY 2.0
Arabis cut flower vase by Carl F. Bagge ★ under © CC BY 2.0

Written by Gaspard Lorthiois | Loves helping out, especially when it comes to growing things. Worked in herbal medicine, runs a farm, and dabbles in tech. Master's degree and engineer.

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