Lychnis coronaria Dancing Ladies - Rose Campion seeds

Lychnis coronaria 'Dancing Ladys' is a mix of colours. Each plant will bear white, red, or bright pink flowers, highlighted by beautiful silver foliage. This lovely short-lived perennial is sometimes grown as a biennial, its fast growth allows it to bloom as early as the second year after sowing and it easily spreads in the garden by self-seeding wherever it pleases, including in rocky soils. Offering a perfect chromatic harmony, Lychnis coronaria is sometimes difficult to associate with other flowers, but it is remarkable among grasses and magnificent in the harsh light of summer, surrounded by plants with grey or white foliage.

Lychnis coronaria is a plant of the Caryophyllaceae family, native to southern Europe and western Asia. It is a woolly-white perennial with a woody crown which forms basal rosettes from which stems rise to 70 cm (28in), sometimes more depending on the nature of the soil, from its second year. They are robust, simple or have some branching. The plant quickly forms a clump 45 cm (18in) wide. Flowering takes place from June to September, in the form of clusters of single, flat flowers with 5 petals, 4 to 5 cm (2in) in diameter, on long peduncles. They will be pure white, magenta red, or a bright fuchsia pink depending on the plants. Its leaves are ovate-oblong, covered with a silvery grey felt, semi-evergreen to evergreen in mild climates. Lychnis coronaria produces lots of seeds that will be dispersed by the wind and germinate very easily in light soil.

Plant Lychnis 'Dancing Ladys' wherever you want to quickly bring colour and texture. It is an excellent filling perennial, an ideal plant for English cottage gardens or herb gardens and perfect for quickly filling spaces between other plants (iris, lavenders, asters, Caryopteris, ground-cover roses, Perowskia) in a brand-new flower bed. You can create a beautiful combination with old or English roses, evergreen shrubs like dark green Eleagnus ebbingei with silver young shoots, shrubby artemisias and any grey or white foliage. Aromatic plants like Sage, Thyme, Lavender, and Rosemary, which require the same growing conditions, will go well with it in poor soils. Mix 'Dancing Ladys' with beautiful grasses like Stipa, Eragrostis, or Miscanthus in slightly wild flower beds. This plant also makes very pretty country bouquets.