Snow-in-summer is a low-growing mat-forming perennial that transforms sunny garden spaces into a late-spring carpet of delicate white flowers. Hardy from zones 3 to 7, this Cerastium tomentosum variety spreads via runners to fill in areas with tufts of narrow, gray-green evergreen foliage topped by clusters of notched white blooms roughly 1 inch across. Rising 6 to 12 inches tall and spreading 6 to 18 inches wide, it thrives in dry, sandy, well-drained soils and actually prefers cool-summer climates where it performs as a dependable ground cover with virtually no serious insect or disease problems.
Full Sun
Moderate
3-7
12in H x 18in W
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Moderate
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Gray-green foliage forms a low 6-inch mat that stays evergreen through winter, then erupts in billowing white flowers from late spring through early summer, creating the snowy effect its common name promises. The plant spreads steadily by runners without becoming invasive, especially in cooler regions where it stays robust. Deer leave it alone, drought poses no threat, and it tolerates the kind of shallow, rocky, dry soils that challenge many perennials.
Snow-in-summer serves primarily as a ground cover in full-sun locations, where it can be massed to create continuous drifts of white bloom. It naturalizes well in sunny, well-drained areas and works effectively in rock gardens, along edging, and in spaces where foot traffic is light and poor soil conditions would reject less hardy plants.
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