Iberis sempervirens
Common name: 
Evergreen Candytuft
Pronunciation: 
i-BEE-ris sem-per-VI-renz
Family: 
Brassicaceae
Genus: 
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Evergreen ground cover, 15-30 cm, sprawling.  Leaves alternate, simple, linear-oblong, 13-50 mm long, 3-5 mm wide, dark green all year.  Flowers white, borne in 2.5-4 cm clusters (racemes) which cover the plant, blooms in spring to early summer.
  • Sun.  Shear lightly after bloom to stimulate growth.  Deer candy!
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 4      Native to southern Europe.
  • Several cultivars, including:
    • ‘Alexander's White’  -  low-growing, early blooming, 10-12 inches (25-30 cm) high, fine textured foliage.
    • ‘Little Gem’  -  dwarf, only 6 inches (15 cm) tall.
    • ‘Purity’  -   8 inches (20 cm) tall, wide spreading.
    • ‘Snowflake’  -  8-10 inches (20-25 cm) tall, large flowers clusters, broader more leathery leaves.
  • Iberis: from Iberia.    sempervirens: evergreen (Latin, semper, always, and vivus, alive)
  • Oregon State Univ. campus: west of Cordley, next to building; north side of Cordley Hort Garden; west side of Milam.
Click image to enlarge
  • leaves

    leaves

  • leafy shoot

    leafy shoot

  • flowers opening

    flowers opening

  • plant habit, flowering

    plant habit, flowering

  • flowers

    flowers

  • flowering

    flowering

  • plant habit, after flowering

    plant habit, after flowering