If you're hoping to grow a rare flower with a rich history and a famous song written about it, edelweiss will meet all your needs.

My mother was raised in northeastern Italy, just across the Austrian border near the Alps, where edelweiss grow wild on steep rocky ledges.

When I was a child, she told me stories about these elusive white flowers and local legends of young men who died after climbing and falling from the cliffs while trying to pick edelweiss for their beloveds.

I realize that's rather grim subject matter for a gardening column to explore — and probably for a child's bedtime story, too — but the upside is that you can try growing the star-shaped, velvety flowers without putting your life, limbs, or sleep at risk.

Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum), whose German name means "noble white," requires a very specific set of conditions found in its native habitat: well-draining alkaline rocky or sandy soil, low fertility, full sun, and cold winters.

If you can replicate these—which is quite possible in the less humid parts of horticultural zones 4-7—you can grow edelweiss.

The plant is especially rewarding for gardeners at high elevations.

Sow seeds outdoors in late autumn to provide the stratification—or winter chill—that they require for germination.

Alternatively, plant pre-chilled seeds in early spring (the package label will indicate whether the seeds have been stratified).

In either case, press the seeds into the soil to ensure good contact, but do not bury them.

They will sprout in spring and begin flowering in the spring and summer of their second year.

Alternatively, you could opt for starter plants, provided you can locate them, and transplant them into the garden immediately following the final spring frost.

They should come into bloom once planted.

During their inaugural year, water the plants consistently while their root systems take hold.

Subsequently, they will rarely require supplementary irrigation.

These plants, capable of withstanding temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit, flourish in barren, nutrient-poor soil; thus, refrain from fertilizing them unless they are in containers, and even then, do so sparingly.

Even if you have never grown edelweiss yourself, it is highly likely that you have come across it through the song of the same name by Rodgers and Hammerstein in the 1965 film 'The Sound of Music,' which secured its place in popular culture.

The song solemnly intones, “Blossom of snow, may you bloom and grow.”

And yet, despite its ability to lure young men into reckless acts of bravery, this delicate flower has inspired successive generations of gardeners, hikers, and movie lovers.

Jessica Damiano authors weekly gardening columns for Reporters and curates the Weekly Dirt Newsletter.

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