Erysimum X Allionii A Biennial Summer Flower Plant
A close relative of wallflowers, Erysimum perofskianum grows wild in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan. This biennial plant was the principal ancestor of the hybrid Erysimum x allionii, from which quite a number of lovely cultivars have been developed. Basically biennials, they are grown mainly as annuals and then marketed, in flower and without a name, in April-May.
The one frequently available is Erysimum x allionii ‘Gold Shot’, which has golden yellow flowers. Specialist seed merchants stock seeds of more sophisticated plants for people to sow themselves. They include Erysimum x allonii ‘Lemon Delight,’ with lemon-yellow flowers; Erysimum x allionii ‘Apricot Delight,’ with apricot-colored flowers; and Erysimum x allionii ‘Orange Monarch,’ with flowers in a warm shade of orange. The plants grow to about 14 in high. The stems rise above a rosette of greyish-green foliage, and bear fragrant flowers from April onwards, provided the seed was sown in June or July of the previous summer.
The seedlings will tolerate a fair amount of frost but, in very cold areas, it is better to overwinter them in an un-heated greenhouse and plant them out in early spring. If you sow in early spring, you will be able to enjoy flowering plants in the autumn of the same year. Flowering plants are on sale in spring.
