Silene

Brilliant fire red, magenta, or sparkling white, campions come in vivid colors. Otherwise called catchflies, their sticky calyces are sometimes inflated to do a better job of trapping small flies. Low-growing species are often from alpine regions, tolerating intense cold, but not wet feet. Taller species are ideal in dryish wild or native plant gardens where they mix well with grasses and other natives. They often self-seed generously.

Light:

Sun,Part Sun

Zones:

3-9

Plant Type:

Perennial

Plant Height:

2-48 inches tall, depending on variety

Plant Width:

6-24 inches wide, depending on variety

Bloom Time:

Blooms late spring to late summer, depending on variety

Landscape Uses:

Containers,Beds & Borders,Groundcover

Special Features:

Flowers,Cut Flowers,Attracts Hummingbirds,Attracts Butterflies,Drought Tolerant,Easy to Grow

Top Varieties

---

Clifford Moore catchfly

(Silene 'Clifford Moore') offers pink flowers in early summer over yellow-edged leaves. Zones 5-8
view >

Royal catchfly

(Silene regia) has 2-inch-wide fiery scarlet flowers in summer on stems that may reach 4-feet tall. The foliage is downy, covered with fine hairs. Excellent in native plant gardens in Zones 4-7.
view >

Plant It With

---

Coreopsis

Blooming at the same time, the bright yellow daisies of tickseed mix well with scarlet fire pink in sunny native plant gardens and dry meadows.

Snow-in-summer

Gray leaves and sparkling white flowers make 8-inch-tall snow-in-summer a good companion for pink Carolina catchfly in rock gardens and crevice gardens.

Thyme

Reiter's red thyme makes neat mats of green foliage and in late spring produces spikes of crimson flowers that blend well with pink and lavender forms of moss campion in well-drained walls and rock gardens.

Propagation

---

Seed
Division