Summer Sparkles® is a compact perennial baby's breath that stays neat and full all season instead of flopping open. From late spring through midsummer the dense, rounded plant is smothered in small, semi-double white flowers with a light fragrance.
It grows about two feet tall and wider, making a soft, frothy filler between bolder perennials. Deadheading the first flush encourages another round of bloom, and the airy sprays are wonderful in cut arrangements.
What it looks like
Tiny semi-double white flowers about ¼ inch across, borne by the hundreds in airy, branching sprays that cover every side of the plant like a cloud. Stems are thin and wiry. Leaves are narrow, lance-shaped and gray-green, densely packed low in the clump. The plant is a uniform, rounded dome 23 to 27 inches tall and 30 to 40 inches wide. At peak bloom it looks like a solid, misty white mound.
Growing it with lavender
Baby's breath enjoys the same full sun and lean, well-drained soil as lavender, and its white froth softens and brightens a planting of purple lavender spikes.
Care
Needs full sun and well-drained, preferably neutral to alkaline soil; it dislikes wet feet, especially in winter. Hardy in zones 3 to 9 and drought tolerant once established. Shear off the first flush of spent flowers to promote rebloom, and avoid moving it once planted.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Gypsophila
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Flower color: White
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Foliage: Gray-green
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Growth habit: Dense, rounded clump
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Mature size: 23–27 in tall × 30–40 in wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 3–9
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Light: full sun
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Bloom start: Early-June
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Peak bloom: Late-June
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Bloom pattern: Repeat Blooming
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Deer resistance: Resistant
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Pollinator value: Good
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly. This plant grows a deep taproot: plant it promptly in its permanent spot, avoid moving it later, and expect it to emerge later in spring than most perennials.
Shipping note: Deep roots resent disturbance; plant promptly and avoid overwatering
Lavender companion · grow guide
Community Grower Report
