Baby's breath 'Rosy Veil'
Gypsophila 'Rosenschleier' ·
A low, wide cloud of tiny, double flowers that open white and turn pale pink, over a tangle of fine, grey-green stems.
- Size
- 16 in tall, 3 ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late June to late August
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Weaver
A bed built around baby's breath 'Rosy Veil'
The planner designed this bed around baby's breath 'Rosy Veil' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why baby's breath 'Rosy Veil' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Baby's breath 'Rosy Veil' × 1, pink
- 2 Blue moor grass × 8, purple
- 3 Leadwort × 13, blue
- 4 Switchgrass 'Shenandoah' × 3, green leaves
- 5 Wild quinine × 3, white
- 6 Eastern bee balm × 3, pink
- 7 Star of Persia × 4, purple
- 8 Red spider lily × 3, red
Why this plant
- The only airy sprays. The others are spires, dense clusters, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- In the middle. At 16 in it is the step between blue moor grass (10 in) in front and eastern bee balm (20 in) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- One plant, alone. A feature plant is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
- Fine leaf against bold. Wild quinine is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- In flower for 10 weeks. From late June to late August.
- Part of the bed's peak. With wild quinine and star of Persia in late June: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 7 groups (86%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The front edge is finished with blue moor grass and leadwort. Leadwort is the plant there is most of: 13 of the 38.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where baby's breath 'Rosy Veil' goes in a border
At 16 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: weaver. A light, airy plant threaded singly between sturdier ones to knit the planting together.
A sterile hybrid between the tall and the creeping baby's breath: it gives the same haze at knee height, lives longer in heavy soil, and cannot seed into wild land.
- A haze of flower at the front
- Hiding the dying leaves of spring bulbs
- Wall tops
What to plant with baby's breath 'Rosy Veil'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Oriental poppy: tall enough (2½ ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same dry soil.
- Bearded iris: flowers first, late May to mid June, so the spot is never empty; tall enough (2½ ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same dry soil.
- English lavender 'Hidcote': in flower together for six weeks, from late June; spires rising out of its mound; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about baby's breath 'Rosy Veil'
Does baby's breath 'Rosy Veil' need sun or shade?
Baby's breath 'Rosy Veil' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled.
What zones does baby's breath 'Rosy Veil' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does baby's breath 'Rosy Veil' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to late August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Late June to late August |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Late June to late August |
| Zone 5 | Late June to late August |
| Zone 6 | Late June to late August |
| Zone 7 | Mid June to mid August |
| Zone 8 | Mid June to mid August |
| Zone 9 | Early June to early August |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should baby's breath 'Rosy Veil' be planted?
2½ ft (75 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3 ft (90 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 16 in (40 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many baby's breath 'Rosy Veil' plants do I need?
At 2½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 2 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 5 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 6 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, threaded between sturdier plants.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is there a native plant like baby's breath 'Rosy Veil'?
Baby's breath 'Rosy Veil' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Harebell: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 4 in shorter, 22 in narrower.
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Zagreb': the same flowering time; an edging, not a weaver, 12 in narrower.
- Gaura 'Siskiyou Pink': the same job in a bed and the same colour; belongs in the middle, not at the front, 14 in taller.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after baby's breath 'Rosy Veil'?
Baby's breath 'Rosy Veil' is over by late August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': from mid August to mid October, 24 in tall.
- Autumn moor grass: from mid August to early October, 16 in tall.
What does baby's breath 'Rosy Veil' look like in winter?
Baby's breath 'Rosy Veil' holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
More Gypsophila
- Baby's breath Gypsophila paniculata
- Creeping baby's breath Gypsophila repens
In these guides
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 16 in (40 cm) tall, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
- Plant
- 2½ ft (75 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late June to late August; airy sprays; pink, white
- Leaves
- Fine texture, semi-evergreen; grey-green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.