Soapwort is a full sun perennial and is one of the easiest plants to grow. Plant them in the alkaline rich soils of western gardens and once they are established they will grow well for years with little or no maintenance. They even perform in clay soils but adding amendments to the soil give their drought-tolerant taproots more vigor.
The five-petaled blooms of soapwort are tiny, only about an inch around, but they form such a dense mass that they provide a colorful display. The ruddy-reddish soapwort stems grow to about ten inches long with dark green, opposite oval waxy leaves. Soapwort’s foliage is one of its outstanding features. After the spent flowers are removed, the leaves form a tight neat mass that often stays evergreen. Its excellent foliage gives soapwort priority as a container plant and with its zone-two hardiness it will usually live in the pot over winter.
The above Saponaria plants are seedlings and seem hardier than regular plants. Soapwort is easy to propagate. The trimmed, trailing stems of Soapwort’s flowers will set seed that can be spread in the flowerbed. The process is a simple broadcast of the seed-filled stems along a rock wall or any place the garden needs more soapwort. Water lightly. The seedlings will not show-up until spring for they require a chilling before they will germinate and another chilling before they will bloom the following spring.
The Latin name Saponaria is the genus of sapo, meaning soap, and its common name soapwort is derived from its cleaning abilities. European immigrants brought Soapwort to the United States to be used as a soap substitute. Saponins are nature’s cleansing agents. The leaves will produce a detergent type of lather when bruised or boiled in water. The cleaning properties are so gentle that they are used for delicate fabrics like lace but are still strong enough to remove grease.
