Armeria maritima ‘Alba’
Armeria maritima ‘Alba’ is a classic sea thrift variety that brings elegance and brightness to the garden with its pure white blooms and tidy evergreen growth. Naturally suited to coastal and dry conditions, this tough yet charming perennial is ideal for sunny borders, gravel gardens, rockeries, and pots. Its low-maintenance nature and long flowering season make it a popular choice for gardeners looking for reliable, compact plants that provide year-round appeal.
Quick Facts
Type: Evergreen perennial
Common Name: Sea Thrift, Sea Pink
Flower Colour: White
Height: 20cm (7ft)
Spread: 20cm (7ft)
Flowering Time: April to June
Hardiness: Hardy in the UK down to temperatures of -15 to -10 degrees Celcius (RHS hardiness rating H5)
Position: Full sun
Soil: Well-drained, sandy or gritty soil; dislikes heavy or waterlogged conditions
Bright White Flowers Over a Long Season
Armeria maritima ‘Alba’ produces clusters of bright white, pompom-like flowers held on slender stems above its foliage. Flowering begins in late spring and continues into early autumn, especially with regular deadheading. The clean, neutral colour makes it easy to mix with other plants and provides a crisp contrast against darker greens and brighter blooms.
Compact, Mound-Forming Growth
This variety forms a small, rounded clump of narrow, grass-like leaves that stay neat and compact throughout the year. Its tidy growth habit makes it perfect for edging paths, filling small gaps in borders, or softening the edges of hard landscaping. It’s equally effective in gravel gardens or tucked between rocks and paving.
Evergreen Foliage for Year-Round Interest
Even outside its flowering season, ‘Alba’ remains attractive with its dense cushion of evergreen foliage. The fine-textured leaves retain their colour and form throughout the winter, providing low-level structure and ground cover.
Drought-Tolerant and Coastal Hardy
Adapted to dry, exposed environments, Armeria maritima ‘Alba’ is highly tolerant of poor soils, drought, and salty coastal air. Once established, it needs little water and thrives in free-draining locations with plenty of sun. It is especially well-suited to coastal gardens, raised beds, alpine displays, and containers.
Beneficial for Pollinators
The flowers are rich in nectar, making this variety attractive to bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects. Its long flowering period offers a valuable food source over several months, helping to support garden biodiversity.
Growing Tips
Watering: Water well after planting until established. Thereafter, water only during prolonged dry spells.
Feeding: Not required in poor soils. In containers, apply a general-purpose feed in spring.
Pruning: Deadhead spent blooms regularly to extend flowering. Trim back old or damaged foliage in spring.
Potted: Thrives in containers with free-draining, gritty compost. Ideal for patios and small spaces.
Propagation: Divide clumps in spring or autumn, or grow from seed.
Tough and Easy to Grow
Armeria maritima ‘Alba’ is fully hardy across the UK and rarely troubled by pests or diseases. It’s perfect for gardeners of all experience levels who want a reliable plant that provides colour and structure with minimal care.
Companion Planting Ideas
Combine with other sun-loving, drought-tolerant perennials to create a naturalistic or alpine-style planting scheme. Excellent companions include:
These plants share similar growing needs and offer contrast in both texture and colour.
Why Choose Armeria maritima ‘Alba’?
For clean white flowers, evergreen presence, and proven reliability in tough conditions, Armeria maritima ‘Alba’ is an excellent choice. Whether planted in containers, gravel beds, or coastal gardens, it offers long-lasting beauty with very little effort.
Choose Armeria maritima ‘Alba’ for classic elegance, low maintenance, and year-round garden appeal.
Buying Alpines from Jacksons Nurseries
At Jacksons Nurseries we lightly trim back our alpines after flowering to ensure that the plants remain neat and tidy whilst in the pot. The more tender the plant the less we cut back to help protect exposed stems from winter frost. Depending on the plant variety we will then prune back further in spring once the risk of the more severe frosts is over.
As a result, depending on the time of year you buy alpines, they may not look like images showing their ‘prime time’ in flower and looking at their best.
Availability: Stock availability figures are provided as a guide only. There is a delay between orders being placed and the plants being gathered by our pulling team. During this time it may be possible for a member of the public to purchase these plants from our Garden Centre, while this is rare it is a possibility and we will notify you of any problems as soon as possible. This figure may also include plants that have not yet be flagged as unsaleable.
Pre-order: Pre-order times are given as a guide only and may vary dependent on the growing season. Orders containing Pre-ordered products will be shipped as a single order when all items become available. Large orders may be part shipped, please contact us on 01782 502741 or email
orders@jacksonsnurseries.co.uk.
From late autumn onwards and dependant on variety, there may be very little visible above the soil except for a few cut back dormant leaves or stems. It is perfectly normal for dormant plants to look like this from autumn onwards, they will however burst back into life in spring.
Alpines are a group of perennials that generally grow in rocky conditions at high altitudes.
As for all plants, soil preparation is time well spent. Dig over the area to be planted ensuring that the ground is free draining. If not then you may wish to either consider planting in a different spot or raising the level of the planting area by adding additional topsoil, well rotted garden compost and/or well rotted manure. Add ‘Fish, Blood and Bone’ fertiliser or a high potash fertiliser to encourage good root growth and development.
It’s always a good idea to plant a few of the same plant together, we recommend planting in 3’s or 5’s to provide a bold effect but allowing them plenty of room to develop.
By using this simple guide and a little time, alpines can make an absolutely spectacular difference to your garden.
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