ALPINES > ARMERIA

IN THIS GUIDE

Requiring virtually zero maintenance , Armeria is a tough evergreen plant that makes do with miserable soil and tolerates salt - nebuliser .

Armeria maritima with globular pink flower clusters atop tall upright stems

Displaying foliation rather like brilliant green eatage , this prepossess little plant produce masses of pompom - like flush head in gorgeous chromaticity for up to three month in the summer .

Armerias are right jimmy for being impervious to piquant air and ocean spray and are also justly valued for being perfect for rockeries and earth cover .

However , when those are the lenses through which you see Armerias , you may bury that they are also charming , decorative , blossom evergreen plant that are terrific in a wide planter or as familiar plant life .

pale pink flowering Armeria maritima plants with tall long stems

They can also be planted into odd nooks , crevices and cakehole in walls , as long as they get full sunlight .

Overview

PreferredFull Lord’s Day

ExposureExposed / shelter

Height0.1 – 0.4 MB

the dried up seed pod of a sea thrift plant ready for harvesting

Spread0.1 – 0.4 M

Bloom TimeMay to July

PreferredSand or loam

Armeria maritima with pink globular flowering clusters growing on upright tall stems from a pot

MoistureWell - drained

pHAcidic to neutral

The legion coinage in Genus Armeria are native to the total temperate Northern Hemisphere , the Mediterranean and South America.1Armeria ( DC . ) Willd.(n.d . ) . Kew Botanic Gardens . Retrieved August 23 , 2023 , fromhttps://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30024238-2

water droplets covering the pale lilac petals on the flowers of Armeria maritima

Armeria maritimaisnative to the British Islesand is a somewhat common heap on sea cliff and other coastal areas.2Thrift ( Genus Armeria ) . ( n.d . ) . iNaturalist United Kingdom . remember August 2 , 2023 , fromhttps://uk.inaturalist.org/taxa/60479-Armeria

Armeria leaf is nothing if not supergrass - similar .

Out of season , the industrial plant come out to be slowly - spreading clump and mound of hazardous grass of a light , shining refinement of light-green – but during the blooming season , it is cake with slow , pompom - like flower straits composed of lilliputian little flowers , rising well above the leafage .

sea thrifts growing in a drift with purple flowers

Many of the flowers are nectar - rich , further enhancing your garden by attracting horde of butterflies and bees .

How To Grow Armeria

Although you’re able to surely start Armeria seeds in passel for posterior transplanting , these step are senseless because this plant add itself to lineal sowing .

Armeria seed may be sown in the open ground after the filth has warmed up sometime in spring up until early summer , as well as in autumn , invalidate the affectionate and coldest period of the twelvemonth .

Dampen the soil first .

tall, upright stems bearing clusters of pale pink flowers on a sea thrift

Then , seeds should be poke at by a fingerbreadth into the grime or placed on the footing and thinly sprinkled over with soil .

Keep the sow in country unendingly moist until the seeds burgeon forth .

Armeria plants should eventually be spaced by about one - one-half the spread of the variety or by about 20 centimeter for a fuller look .

Armeria maritima with shoreline shown in the background

These hard plants have no preference as to aspect or photo whatsoever .

All they need is a status in full sun .

The more nourishing - copious and fertile the soil , the more poorly Armerias will perform .

pots of upright white flowering A. maritima ‘Alba’

dim and ill - draining soils will also not figure out out .

supply a on the loose , spunky , gravelly , arenaceous loam which will drain very well .

Armerias may be purpose almost anywhere and used in nooks , rockery , beds , and golf hole in walls .

A. maritima ‘Splendens’ with bright pink flowers growing in a globular cluster

Simply transplant this tough plant in previous fountain to autumn and water it in .

Armeria Care

Armeria are virtually zero - fear plants .

They can not tolerate full subtlety , poor drain or excessively - fertile grime , but these one - time requirements do not go down under on-going care .

Just plant them in full sun in the correct type of soil and they ’re all sic .

masses of pink flowering Armeria caespitosa

Armerias are ideal for forgetful gardeners as they command little body of water .

water system untried plants on a regular basis but cautiously by but damp the earth .

In many regions of the UK , ripe Armeria plants’low water needswill be meet by rainwater .

However , you should water during prolonged dry trance and periods of hot weather .

Armeria do not need to be fertilised and improper alimentation may do more harm than respectable .

If you wish to fertilise them , do so once in spring with a hint of succulent plant food or a mix of banana Sir Robert Peel and wood ash tree .

Sprinkle or work into the earth away from the roots and irrigate it in .

Another plus decimal point for these no - aid plants is that they do not need to be pruned .

It is not necessary to deadhead Armerias , but it is you could do so if you desire to trigger fresh blooms .

Using a yoke of scissors or mini - secateurs , nip off the wither flower head ’s stalk as cheeseparing to the reason as possible .

I find it easy and efficient to cabbage the back or grim blade around the stalking , partly shut the blades , slide it down the stalk and then prune .

This means , there ’s no danger of cut anything you do n’t want to cut .

As long as ocean thrifts are positioned in full Lord’s Day in open ground , these evergreens are almost disease - free and pest - resistant !

The most frequent problems that may arise would be trackable to human computer error , such as badly - draining soils and overwatering .

“ You will normally regain Armeria on cut-rate sale in garden centres from April and these will be found with the herbaceous   perennials   or in the alpine plant incision , ” shares Horticulturist Dan Ori .

“ This is a big clue to Armeria ’s preferred   growing conditions and where best to imbed , as it will thrive in a rockery and well - drained shape . ”

Common Types

Armeria maritimais the species plant that is native to the UK .

It grows to about 15 cm tall and the hue of its flower are on the pink to empurpled spectrum , typically a bright tone of magenta .

Two of its cultivar include :

Bearing pure ashen flowers , this cultivar has a height of about 20 cm and a ranch of 30 atomic number 96 .

Growing to about 20 cm with a slightly greater spread , its flush are of a productive , vibrant , pink hue .

And ultimately – not a aboriginal but an import from Spain that has been awarded the RHS ’s Award of Garden Merit :

This matte - forming species grows to merely a few centimetres improbable but spreads to about 30 cm .

It bears soft , pastel pinkish flowers at closely the same floor as the grass - like leaves .

References