How big does Snow-in-summer grow?

About 20 cm × 45 cm after ten years (height × width). Its ultimate size is 15–30 cm × 25–45 cm.

What soil does Snow-in-summer grow in?

It tolerates these soils: average garden soil, sandy, calcareous.

Is Snow-in-summer hardy?

Hardy down to -40 °C (USDA zone 3, RHS H7). It gets through winter in every part of the country.

How much water does Snow-in-summer need?

Water need: low. Drought tolerance: high.

Snow-in-summer

Cerastium tomentosum

Snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum) is a ground cover plant that reaches 20 cm × 45 cm after ten years. Light: full sun, part shade. Hardy down to -40 °C. Drought tolerance: high.

Illustration of Snow-in-summer — An illustration of the typical shape of the mature plant, not a photo.

What it's good for, and what it isn't

A low, mat-forming ground cover with silvery, woolly leaves that disappears under a sheet of white flowers in late spring and early summer. It suits sunny, dry, lean spots, rock gardens and wall tops, but in good soil it spreads hard by runners and seed, so keep it away from small, delicate neighbours. Shear it after flowering to keep the mat dense and cut down on self-seeding.

Watch out for

Short-lived: after a few years the mat goes bare in the middle and dies out in patches, so it needs renewing by division from time to time. The roots rot in heavy or waterlogged soil, and in the hot, humid spells of Central European summers the foliage declines and patches melt out. In good soil it overruns neighbouring plants.

Key facts

Light: Full sun, Part shade
Water need: Low
Care: Medium
Size after 10 years: 20 cm × 45 cm
Hardiness: down to -40 °C
Foliage: Evergreen
Flowering: J F M A M J J A S O N D May–June, white

All details

Group	Ground cover
Light	Full sun, Part shade
Size after 10 years	20 cm × 45 cm
Ultimate size	15–30 cm × 25–45 cm
Hardiness	down to -40 °C (USDA 3, RHS H7)
Soil	Average garden soil, Sandy, Calcareous
Foliage	Evergreen
Flowering	May–June, white
Water need	Low
Drought tolerance	High
Maintenance	Medium
Root aggressiveness	Low
Suckering	no data
Spreading	High
Distance from buildings	no data
Distance from paving	no data
Litter	not typical
Planting distance	30 cm
For dogs	no data
For cats	no data
For children	no data
Typical price	no data

Toxicity data is for information only. If your pet or child has eaten a plant, contact a vet or a doctor.

Frequently asked questions

Data updated: October 17, 2026 · How our data is made

Appears in these lists

Ground cover plants Drought-tolerant plants Drought-tolerant plants for sandy soil Evergreen plants Plants for a Mediterranean garden Rock garden plants

Guide on the topic

Ground cover plants against weeds: which goes where, and how many you need A ground cover keeps weeds out once it has closed up: until then, usually for two or three summers, it needs mulch and weeding. Under trees and in shade, lesser periwinkle, bigroot geranium, barrenwort and barren strawberry do best; in sunny, dry places stonecrops, thymes and creeping junipers. Most perennial ground covers take 9-18 plants per square metre. The tables work out what a square metre costs at today's shop prices in your country.

Building a rock garden: stone, soil and plants step by step A rock garden belongs on a sunny, gentle slope, in lean, free-draining soil: one third garden soil, one third coarse sand, one third crushed stone. Lay the stones, all of one kind, in layers leaning the same way and sunk a third to a half into the ground, so that about two fifths of the surface is stone. Four to six plants per square metre are enough: creeping junipers and grasses make the frame, and between them cushion perennials, stonecrops and thymes flower from March to October.

Looks good next to it

Cotton lavender

Santolina chamaecyparissus

Jujube

Ziziphus jujuba

Wild privet

Ligustrum vulgare