<em>Armeria</em>, Spanish thrift: to plant, to grow, to care for

Description and botany

Armeria, commonly called “Sea thrift” or “sea pink”, belongs to family Plumbaginaceae. The genus includes more than 80 species of perennial plants growing naturally in mountains and coastal areas of Northern Hemisphere.

Armeria maritima is the species most frequently found in gardens. Also encountered is Armeria juniperifolia, which offers a dwarf, compact habit not exceeding 8 cm in height, and especially Armeria pseudarmeria, which has given rise to a lovely selection, the ‘Ballerina’ series, producing flowers larger than the species with exceptional floribundity and vigour.

Relatively fast-growing, this low plant forms a compact, dense herbaceous clump, forming rounded small cushions which, when planted in large drifts, strongly resemble grass and have earned it the nickname “Sea thrift”. This groundcover, which tends to spread over time without ever becoming invasive, will not exceed 8 to 45 cm in height in flower, with a similar spread. Armeria plants are long-lived.

Armeria maritima – botanical illustration

From a cespitose, ramified stump emerge in spring rosettes of evergreen linear or ribbon-like, long lanceolate leaves 1 to 20 cm long. They take on mid-green, dark green, blue-green, green-bronze and sometimes even purple tones and

From these small cushions, bright even in winter, arise rigid, smooth stems of varying length bearing at their tips the dense, spherical flower heads. Perched on their stiff peduncles, usually well above the foliage, small flattened or cup-shaped flowers 1 to 4 cm in diameter appear in spring, tightly packed into compact, globose pompom-like clusters.

Flowers most often range through all shades of pink, from very vivid pink to pure lilac mauve and rose-red, but are occasionally white in some varieties. Flowering, remarkably long, starts in April–May and does not finish until August, sometimes repeating in late summer.

Armeria is truly an easy little plant. From its mountain origins it has retained an accommodating character and the robustness of plants that grow alone on dry banks. Hardy (-15°C, sometimes much lower), it can be grown across all regions.

A full-sun plant, preferring poor, very free-draining soils, even sandy or slightly calcareous. Undemanding, it even tolerates sea spray, and copes very well with wind and drought.

While fully playing its role as groundcover, in rock gardens or borders, it may also be used in alpine gardens or in pots, tubs and window boxes.

Some flower colours: Armeria pseudarmeria ‘Ballerina Red’, Armeria maritima ‘Düsseldorfer Stolz’, Armeria pseudarmeria ‘Ballerina Lilac’, Armeria maritima ‘Alba’

Main species and varieties

Most popular

Our favourites

Armeria maritima Düsseldorfer Stolz - Sea Thrift

It forms a beautiful blue-green cushion topped with small vivid reddish-pink flowers. This variety forms a compact, dense tuft as groundcover, in rock garden or as an edging.

• Flowering time June to October
• Height at maturity 15 cm

See the product sheet

Armeria juniperifolia Bevans Variety - Sea Thrift

A dwarf variety forming dense, low cushions. Its colours are more intense: darker green foliage and pom-pom flowers a brighter pink than the type. A miniature groundcover ideal for a trough, a scree or a pot.

• Flowering time May to July
• Height at maturity 10 cm

See the product sheet

Armeria maritima splendens - Sea Thrift

This variety forms a compact, dense tuft notable for its remarkably long red to vivid pink flowering. Ideal as groundcover, in rock gardens and in alpine gardens or in pots, tubs and planters.

• Flowering time June to August
• Height at maturity 10 cm

See the product sheet

Armeria pseudarmeria Ballerina Red - Sea Thrift

It forms an elegant cushion of evergreen leaves covered with generously sized pom-poms of a somewhat muted dark red. Versatile, it establishes as groundcover, in rock gardens or in sunlit pots.

• Flowering time June to October
• Height at maturity 20 cm

See the product sheet

Armeria pseudarmeria Ballerina Lilac - Sea Thrift

We love its small mauve flowers tightly grouped into pom-poms. Plants of the Ballerina series offer larger flowers than the type, stronger flower stems and are more prolific and vigorous.

• Flowering time June to October
• Height at maturity 20 cm

See the product sheet

Armeria pseudarmeria Ballerina White - Sea Thrift

We like its large pure white flowers with a green centre. A very robust and floriferous variety to plant anywhere in containers or in a dry garden.

• Flowering time June to October
• Height at maturity 20 cm

See the product sheet

Armeria maritima Vesuvius - Sea Thrift

A distinctive variety with bronze foliage that produces small vivid pink flowers from spring. Very compact.

• Flowering time June to October
• Height at maturity 25 cm

See the product sheet

 

Planting

Where to plant Armeria or sea thrift

Very easy to grow, hardy to cold (sometimes down to -20°C) and to drought, to wind or sea spray, sea thrift can be planted throughout France. From its montane origins, it has retained an undemanding character and is able to grow on its own by the sea and in holiday gardens without watering. Good drought tolerance makes it a plant well suited to Mediterranean climate.

It prefers somewhat spartan growing conditions. It only requires very free-draining, dry, even poor soil, including calcareous soils. It will do very well in sandy coastal soils.

Winter flooding is fatal; excess water is its only enemy: it absolutely needs a very filtering soil, neither heavy nor waterlogged. When in doubt, plant on a mound or on a well-drained slope.

Give it a well-lit area with no tree around to cast shade because it requires full sun to flower well.

This perfect groundcover will be an excellent alternative to lawn on sandy ground and in sunny, hard-to-reach areas of the garden, thus avoiding weeding.

It is the rockery plant par excellence. It is also indispensable in the foreground of perennial beds and mixed-border with a wild aspect, to which it brings a lot of lightness. Miniature species (Armeria juniperifolia) are perfect for a trough or a pot.

It will establish along a path, a border or a fence, to flower on low walls, in gaps in paving, or on a rocky scree.

When to plant Armeria or sea thrift

Plant Armeria or sea thrift in the garden in spring, from March to May in cold climate when risk of frost has passed, or from September to November elsewhere.

How to plant Armeria or sea thrift

In ground

Armeria or sea thrift is best planted en masse at 9 to 10 plants per m2 spaced 20 to 30 cm apart for a beautiful homogeneous tapetum.

In heavy soils, add coarse sand or gravel at planting to improve drainage.

• Dig a hole three times wider than the rootball
• Plant without burying the collar
• Refill with excavated soil
• Firm lightly
• Water generously at establishment; thereafter it will need no watering

In a pot

The sea thrift thrives in pots, planters or alpine troughs, alone or in combination. Potting medium must be very free-draining to avoid stagnant moisture at the roots. Position in full sun.

• In bottom of a large 30 cm diameter pot, spread a good layer of drainage (gravel or clay balls)
• Plant in a mix of compost, garden soil and gravel
• Protect from winter rains by sheltering in a greenhouse during bad weather
• Mulch and water regularly

→ Find out more about planting Armeria maritima in pots with Virginie

Care and maintenance

Sea thrift is a really undemanding perennial plant: it establishes itself without maintenance and does not require watering once well established. Ideal for weekend gardens or gardens without a gardener!

It requires regular watering at establishment; afterwards it will manage on its own.

In a pot, water a little more regularly to keep soil slightly moist, especially if drought sets in. Once a month, feed the plant with a fertiliser for flowering plants to encourage flowering and keep it vigorous; do the same when repotting. In bad weather season, even though it does not fear cold or frost, you can protect it from freezing rain by sheltering it in a greenhouse.

Remove spent flowers as they fade to encourage flowering and keep small cushions looking tidy.

Tuft of Armeria maritima past its prime (photo Gertjan van Noord-Flickr)

In autumn after flowering, clean and cut back tufts to ground level to preserve a vigorous, compact clump.

Every 2 or 3 years, divide clumps to restore vigour.

Potential diseases and pests

In open ground, Armeria or Sea Thrift is not very prone to disease. Rust is its main enemy, especially in spring when it forms rust‑coloured pustules on the leaves. Cut off and destroy affected leaves. Then treat this fungus by spraying with nettle or horsetail manure.

Infestations of red spider mites and aphids can occur in greenhouses. 

Multiplication

Dividing clumps in spring, on well-established 2 to 3-year-old plants, remains the simplest and quickest method of multiplying Sea thrift. Sowing Sea thrift seeds under a cold frame in spring or autumn is possible but can give unpredictable results.

• With a spade, lift the clump
• Separate a few offsets from the clump
• Replant these offsets immediately in the garden in well-draining soil
• Water generously

Associate

With excellent drought and sea‑spray resistance and ornamental all year round, Sea thrift is indispensable in dry gardens, in a rock garden and in low‑maintenance gardens, seaside holiday, alpine or Mediterranean gardens in which it forms superb tapetum of flowers throughout the year.

Planted en masse, it provides contrast with its vibrant hues, either in pastel mixes of cool colours — mauve, purplish or white — or in more complementary pink/green‑yellow combinations with Allium moly and achilleas.

The flowers of this mat‑forming perennial will bloom abundantly in spring and summer, surrounded by other sun‑loving groundcover perennials such as Caucasian rockcress, aubrieta, Crucianella, moss phlox, hardy geraniums, snow‑in‑summer (Cerastium tomentosum), Mexican fleabane (Erigeron karvinskianus) and heart‑leaf globularia.

In a border, it will sit alongside campanulas, Helichrysum angustifolium and coreopsis.

At the edge of a rockery bed, it pairs with sedums, achilleas and adds a subtle pastel touch scattered among grasses.

An example of a combination in dry soil: Armeria maritima, Festuca glauca, Sedum spectabile ‘Herbstfreude’, Achillea millefolium ‘Red Velvet’

It will find its place edging summer beds alongside miniature carnations, perennial flax, phacelia, love‑in‑a‑mist (Nigella damascena), Penstemon, Cosmos, gaura, Eryngium, Nepeta and ornamental Allium.

It adds structure to pink/mauve‑inspired schemes when set among lavenders, asters and miniature carnations, creeping gypsophila, low‑habit roses, artemisias and small blue thistles.

In a stone trough or container, pair it with alyssum.

→ Discover other pairing ideas with Armeria in Virginie’s advice sheet: ideas for combining Armeria