Androsace hirtella

This is a beautiful and rewarding androsace to grow. It is best raised from seed though care should be taken that the true seed, and not hybrid seed, is the starting point. Some variation in the density of flowering can be expected but a small number of seedlings will ensure that plants covering themselves in flower can be grown on to maturity. Our illustration is chosen so that the leaves can be seen together with the flowers as hybridity can easily be seen in the leaves [Editors Note: adjustments to the brightness and contrast of your screen may significantly improve visibilty of the leaves]. The true plant develops parallel sided leaves which are not fully visible until well into the growing season as the plant is so compact that only the leaf tips can be seen at first.

Androsace hirtella grows only on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, the mountain range between France and Spain. It grows at 1800-2500 m in the crevices of limestone cliffs but can be cultivated happily in non limy composts which must however contain one half to two thirds of a sharp grit with a particle size of 2-5 mm. Earlier writers have stressed the need for excellent drainage but it is now thought that highly aerated composts are advantageous, hence the need of a coarse grit.

High alpine androsaces, of which this is a typical example, prefer to be grown out of doors rather than in an alpine house but care needs to be taken to avoid excessive damp during the winter. This winter protection can be supplied in the alpine house or by a frame light. It will be found however that a small seedling introduced into a small cylindrical hole in a block of tufa with a sand infill will settle down and grow slowly for decades outdoors with no cover at all. The tufa block can be placed in a trough or raised bed but direct sunlight should be limited to a few hours each day to avoid the block drying out. Grown in this way Androsace hirtella will mimic the tight, floriferous hummocks we delight to find in the wild.

David Mowle

[ A. axillaris ] [A. baltistanica ] [A. hausmannii] [A. hirtella] [A. x marpensis] [A. minor] [A. sarmentosa] [A. SQAE265] [A. yargongensis]