Silene dioica
red campion
- 9cm pot
- £6.99
- available to order from late spring
- 3 × 9cm pots
- £15.00
- available to order from late spring
- approx 100 seeds
- £2.29
- sold out
- 6 × 9cm pots
- £27.00 £41.94
- available to order from late spring
Delivery options
- Standard £5.95
- Position: Partial shade
- Soil: Moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil
- Rate of growth: Average
- Flowering period: May and July
- Hardiness: Fully hardy
A dainty native wildflower with rose-pink flowers on upright stems in late spring and early summer. Red campion is perfect for naturalising in partially shady areas of a moist wildflower meadow or woodland edge. Commonly found growing in woods and hedgerows, in former times the pounded seed of the plant was used to treat snake bite.
Dead-head regularly to prolong flowering. In autumn cut the faded flower-heads down to the ground and compost the dead stems.
For best results, sow in early autumn or spring. Start seeds indoors, from February, in trays or pots filled with moist compost, later transplanting the seedlings to a lightly shaded or sunny garden spot. Or, sow directly outdoors, from April, by scattering seed on the surface of a finely prepared seedbed, then lightly pressing down. Keep newly sown areas consistently watered and weeded. Thin young plants to a spacing of 30cm (12in) apart so they can fully develop. Direct sowings from August to October will overwinter to flower earlier the following year.
