Lychnis flos-cuculi Petite Jenny

The Lychnis flos-cuculi 'Petite Jenny' is a more compact version of the 'Jenny' Ragged Robin, which is better known to gardeners. This variety produces the same very double flowers, in charming pink pompoms. It is a small perennial plant that blooms in late spring and early summer, at the top of decorative purple stems. It is a very hardy plant that thrives in wet soils and around sunny ponds. Its pastel flowering attenuates the stiffness of other perennials.

This 'Petite Jenny' Ragged Robin is a horticultural selection. The wild Ragged Robin belongs to the Caryophyllaceae family; it is a cousin of the carnations. It is named this way because it blooms when the cuckoo sings. It is an upright perennial that flourishes in wet areas of Europe (marshes, turf moors) and can also be found in meadows up to 2500 m (8202ft) altitude.

The 'Petite Jenny' Ragged Robin has a stoloniferous stump producing a low tuft composed of lanceolate spatulate bright green leaves, semi-evergreen in winter, which can reach 12 cm (5in) long. From this tuft emerge in May-June branched, slightly leafy, purple-red tinged stems, about 45 cm (18in) tall. They bear at their ends clusters of bell-shaped calyxes, initially whitish then pink, veined with red. The calyxes open to release tender and pure pink flowers, 2-3 cm (1in) in diameter, composed of multiple deeply cut petals, forming fine strips. The Lychnis flos-cuculi self-seeds spontaneously, not always identical to the mother plant.

The flowering Ragged Robins create a charming effect of airy mass. They are perfect for English gardens and the cool and humid English climate. You can plant them near a body of water, or in any wet to cool soil, in the sun, with pink astilbes, candelabra primroses, coral-flowering heucheras, or even Mertensia virginica and white or pink Physostegia virginiana. Their association with wet soil grasses (small Miscanthus, Carex, ribbons of shepherdess) is simply superb. The plant will take some time to establish, but what a wonder!

Note: Attention, our young plug plants are professional products reserved for experienced gardeners: upon receipt, transplant them as soon as possible, in pots, containers or directly in beds.