Candytuft Annual Wildflower Seed

Candytuft - Iberis Umbelleta

Height: 8 - 12 inches.
Flower Color: Pastels Mix 
Plant Type: Annual
Flower Type: Clustered flowerheads of tiny flowers
Bloom Time: Mid-season
Is Candytuft invasive? No
Is Candytuft endangered? No
Is Candytuft edible? Yes
Is Candytuft medicinal? Yes
Regions: All regions of North America.
Zones: 3 - 9
Soil preference: Dislikes dampness, prefers fast-draining soils.
Sun/Shade: Full sun
Moisture requirements: Adaptable to even arid conditions.
Germination: 20 - 30 days
Optimum soil temperature for germination: 68F - 80F
Sowing depth: 1/16"

Annual candytuft is a wild flower that is just about as wonderful as its cousing which is perennial candytuft. If planted from wildflower seed, it begins flowering withing just a few short months with colors ranging from white to pink to purple. It is a taller and less compact than perennial candytuft, but as you can see, the colors are striking and it makes a wonderful addition to the wildflower seed garden. Annual candytuft is often sold and planted by itself, but is often quite commonly found in wild flower seed mixes due to its easy seeding and growth habits. If you want to start a wildflower garden, but really don't have a clue how and what to do, candytuft is a good wildflower seed to start with. You can just broacast the seed, lightly rake it, keep it moist and before long you will have a brilliant display of flowers. People will think you are wildflower expert! This is also a good plant for gardening with kids because it grows and flowers so fast from seed. If your winters are not harsh, candytuft can survive the winters. It is best to snip the seed pods after flowering and give it a good bed of mulch in the fall to increase its survival rate.

Candytuft was an herb that was often used in Colonial times for medicinal purposes. Colonists would use it for rheumatism, gastrointestinal complaints, bronchial problems, and asthma symptoms. The whole wild flower seed plant is edible, but has a very bitter taste so it is not an herb that you will want to flavor your food with. More recent studies have shown that it does have some merit cases of unexplainable gastric problems, but the taste is so bad nobody wants to use it by itself for a home remedy. Some herbalists still use candytuft as part of a mixture to treat certain ailments.