How to Grow Douglasia Plants in your Garden

Gardener's HQ Guide to Growing Yellow Rock Jasmine

Douglasia is a hardy perenial that flowers in the spring.

It is a rosette plant and has lots of tubular shaped flowers of yellow or pink.

Due to its size and prostrate nature it is an ideal plant for rock gardens.

One of the common names for Douglasia is the Yellow Rock Jasmine. Some members of this genus are also known by the name of Dwarf Primrose.

The Douglasia genus itself is often considered to be part of the Androsace genus. Androsace consists of about 110 species and includes most of the known Rock Jasmines and Fairy Candelabras.

Douglasia nivalis
Douglasia nivalis by nordique.

Douglasia Growing and Care Guide

Common Names: Rock Jasmine: Yellow; Alpine; Androsace, Fairy candelabras. Dwarf primrose
Life Cycle: Hardy perennial.
Height: 3 to 5 inches (7 to 13 cm).
Native:Himalayas. Many species are native to the Arctic, Tundra, and Alpine regions of North America and Russia.
Growing Region: Zones 5 to 7.
Flowers: Spring.
Flower Details: Yellow, pink. Tiny flowers. Umbel. Tubular. Massed
Foliage: Herbaceous. Oblong. Tiny. Toothed. Sometimes hairy.
Sow Outside: Surface. Autumn. Douglasia seeds should first be sown into flats. Next sink the flat into the ground in an area that offers shade, preferably close to a wall that faces north. Provide a glass/plastic covering. Keep an eye on the flats to ensure that the soil remains moist. In the spring bring indoors and keep at 55°F (13°C). Once seedlings have emerged and grown strong transplant them outdoors towards the end of autumn or the beginning of spring. Spacing 8 inches (20 cm).
Sow Inside: Germination time: one month to two years. Temperature: 55°F (13°C). Mix seeds in a moist growing medium, place in a freezer bag, then stratify by refrigeration for one month. Sow at the end of winter. Transplant outdoors as above.
Requirements and care: Full sunlight or light shade. Good drainage. Moist soil. Soil pH 5.5 to 7.0. Regular watering during dry periods, avoiding leaves. Light winter mulch. Crown is vulnerable so protect from heavy rains. Propagate: by taking summer softwood cuttings or by dividing in the autumn.

How to grow Yellow Rock Jasmine and other Douglasia Plants in the Garden

If planning to grow yellow Rock Jasmine outdoors then seeds should be sown on the soil surface in flats that are north facing in the autumn. The flats should then be covered in glass. As soon as spring arrives bring the flats indoors and keep at about 10 degrees celsius.

If you plan to start the seedlings of yellow rock jasmine indoors then place the seeds (within soil) in a black bag, then place in the fridge for five weeks. Seeds should then be sown out at a temperature of 10 Celsius; they can take anything from one month to two years to germinate!

Once seedlings have appeared they should remain growing until they are ready to be planted out at the end of winter. Douglasia can be planted into either a sunny or lightly shaded part of the garden that has good drainage, and moist pH 6 to 7 soil. The young yellow rock jasmine plants should be planted at about 20 cm apart.

Caring for Douglasia

It will take at least two years until Yellow rock Jasmine and other Douglasia first bloom. Once established the plants will require to be watered from below (avoid the leaves) in prolonged dry spells, and the plant should be protected in times of heavy rain, perhaps by locating the plant under a rock overhang in the garden.