Edelweiss: the flower of courage
The furry and wild appearance make it a really strange and eccentric flower but the edelweiss (in German) or rock flower, as it is also dubbed this white example, is among the undisputed protagonists of the mountains.
In our country it is possible to find in the Alps but also in the Apennines, especially in Abruzzo where it is among the rocks and the toughest terrain and inaccessible.
Its natural habitat is not circumscribed only to our country but we can also find the Leontopodium in India, China and Japan, especially in the arid areas and of course mountainous.
Meaning and legend
This flower means courage and is probably more suitable to give to the mountain lovers and adventures … His legend tells, once again, of a love story:
A boy went into the top of a mountain where he remained stuck between two ice sheets, and his girlfriend, not seeing him return, decided to go look for him. Just caught up with him she realized to could not approach him and began to weep near him … The next morning, her hair and her tears were covered with frost, which most resembled the typical hair of edelweiss and, given the desire of watch girl forever companion, she was transformed into this flower unreachable and unique as she had become!
Cultivation
The Edelweiss is a very special flower and so keep in mind what is its natural habitat before you get to buy seeds of this flower. The alpine climate and the Apennines it’s ideal while exposure to the sun almost essential as long as not too suffer the high temperatures of a few late spring. Irrigation must be regular, making sure that there are no puddles (for this you need to protect the flowers from areas too exposed to rain or place them in a well-draining soils)
