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Brassicaceae
Wallflower
Erysimum cheiri
Faithfulness in adversity, lasting beauty.
- Family
- Brassicaceae
- Genus
- Erysimum
- Native to
- Mediterranean, southern Europe
- Bloom season
- Spring, Early Summer
- Type
- Biennial or short-lived perennial
- Height
- 20–80 cm
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil
- Alkaline, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Hardiness
- 3–10
- Lifespan
- 2–4 years
Did you know
- Wallflowers are named for their habit of growing out of cracks in old stone walls and ruins, where they thrive in mortar lime.
- Their sweet, almost violet-spice fragrance fills the air on spring evenings and was a favorite in medieval cloister gardens.
- They're members of the cabbage family — closely related to broccoli, mustard, and stock — though their flowers are far showier.
- The English word 'wallflower' meaning a shy person at a dance comes directly from this plant's habit of clinging to walls at the edges of gardens.
- Wallflowers are critical early-season nectar plants for orange-tip butterflies and emerging queen bumblebees.
Color meanings
Orange
Endurance through hardship