A perennial belonging to the Caryophyllaceae family, the Cheddar pink is a European species whose natural range extends mainly across the limestone massifs of central and western Europe, from the Ardennes to the Alps, where it colonises rocks, cliffs and dry grasslands, typically between 200 and 1,500 metres altitude.
It forms dense, compact cushions of narrow, linear, glaucous, evergreen leaves with a characteristic blue-green hue. The slender flowering stems, 10 to 20 cm tall, each bear a single flower with strongly fringed petals. This plant displays a pale pink colouring, most likely the result of open pollination from seed, and thus departs from the pure white one would expect of a selected cultivar.
In its natural habitat, it flowers from May to July. In cultivation, it may begin flowering as early as April or May.
It requires well-drained soil, preferably calcareous, in full sun. It tolerates summer drought well and is perfectly suited to rock gardens, dry-stone walls and gravel gardens.