Evergreen perennial wallflowers are a great performer and not being fussy plants can grow in most soils except damp acidic soils. Produces attractive mauve-purple to orange-red flowers May to July and cream edged long narrow leaves which brighten up a winter garden.
Erysimum linifolium Variegatum
Need some late spring and early summer colour? The profuse flowering orange-red fading to mauve-purple flowers of this variegated wallflower will brighten up a garden.
Erysimum linifolium variegatum flowers
Erysimum linifolium variegatum summer
Early summer flowers
Similar in appearance to the flowers of erysimum bowles mauve but slightly less purple. I actually prefer this variegated wallflower due to the larger and more colourful leaves providing year round colour.
You should prune back after flowering helps to prevent the plant from becoming leggy. If you are thinking of collecting the seeds they apparently will not come true so the way to propagate is from cuttings in spring or summer.
Erysimum linifolium variegatum winter
Wallflower with winter interest
E.linifolium Variegatum is meant to be slightly more tender than ‘Apricot Twist’ which is RHS rated as H4 hardy but mine faired well during the long cold winter of 2012/2013 and in exposed East Anglia where we were hit worst. Many garden centres don’t even over winter Trachycarpus in this region it’s that exposed.
Evergreen perennial Erysimums
‘Apricot Twist’ considered very hardy
‘Bowles Mauve’ AGM
‘Jenny Brook’
‘Constant Cheer’
‘Walberton’s Fragrant Star’
‘Plant World Lemon’
‘Sweet Sorbet’
‘Winter Joy’
‘Winter Sorbet’
‘Jacob’s Jacket’
‘Starbright’ April-August yellow flowers
‘Paintbox’
‘Winter Orchid’ April-August scented flowers
Not just for the cottage garden
When I first saw this plant I didn’t recognise it as a wallflower at first with its long variegated leaves. I think a lot of younger gardening enthusiasts dismiss what is mostly thought of as a cottage garden flower never having looked at the newer varieties currently available.
It would not look out of place in a contemporary or tropical garden and as a perennial last many years. Other similar evergreen varieties also bring much needed winter interest and colour.
Perennial wallflower linifolium variegatum flowers
Linifolium variegatum flowers in detail
Like the shorter lived wallflower the perennial wallflowers produces masses of flowers that gradually change colour from a pinky salmon red to a light lavender purple colour. New flower-buds emerge to replace the older ones and so gives a long flowering period. You can expect them to flower from early spring until autumn. They are a real joy brining much needed colour to the garden with very little effort.
