Centranthus Ruber

Description

The grey-green waxy leaves and very sweetly-perfumed red flowers, occasionally pink or white with no intermediate shades, combine to perfection, and look best grown en-masse on banks, or when allowed to self-seed in walls and paving. They are very attractive to bees and butterflies and other pollinating insects and will even grow well in shallow soil where virtually nothing else will grow. And additionally, in olden times, and even now, both leaves and roots can be eaten, the leaves either fresh in salads or lightly boiled, the roots boiled in soups!

Sowing Advice

Sow immediately at any time onto preferably a soil-based compost, covering with fine grit to approximately their own depth. Germination MAY be quicker if kept at 15 to 20 degrees C. but many seeds WILL NOT come up the year they are sown, needing winter chilling after sowing, and ONLY come up with natural spring germination.

Key Facts