Lychnis coronaria 'Atrosanguinea' (Rose Campion) – Hardy Perennial (Set of 3 or 6)

Rose campion is a cottage garden favourite, throwing up branching stems of deep crimson magenta flowers over woolly silver foliage.

The silver grey rosettes sit low through the year and the flower stems rise to 60 to 80cm tall from June to August, each carrying a run of flat, five petalled blooms. The silver and magenta together look at home in a cottage border, a gravel garden or a relaxed meadow planting, and deer and rabbits tend to leave it alone.

It is easy to please and asks for very little: full sun, and soil that drains freely, including poor, dry, sandy or chalky ground and exposed coastal gardens. Plants arrive established in 1 litre pots. Rose campion is short lived by nature and usually keeps itself going by seeding around, so leave a few seed heads if you want it to stay.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Rose campion
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: 60 to 80cm tall and 30 to 45cm wide
• Growth Habit: Upright, branching and clump forming
• Perfect For: Cottage gardens, gravel and dry borders, meadow planting and wildlife gardens
• Foliage: Woolly silver grey rosettes
• Flowering Time: June to August
• Planting Position: Full sun, including dry and coastal gardens
• Soil Type: Well drained. Tolerates poor, dry and sandy soil
• Hardiness: Fully hardy in the UK
• Maintenance: Cut the spent flower stems back after flowering and tidy old foliage in early spring. Short lived, and it keeps itself going by seeding around
• Seasonal Interest: Summer
• Type: Hardy herbaceous perennial