Erysimum Colour Vibe Red - Wallflower

Erysimum 'Colour Vibe Red' is a perennial wallflower which is remarkable for its large flowers with a very bright, stable red colour. This plant forms a pretty clump with silvery-green foliage and remains very attractive throughout the season. Fragrant, easy to grow, and hardy down to -7°C, it enlivens pots and borders from March to June. It is not difficult to grow in well-drained soil, even poor and rather dry. 

Erysimum 'Colour Vibe Red' (Cdcery1) PP 36 239) belongs to the Brassicaceae family, like all wallflowers. It comes from the species Erysimum cheiri (formerly known as Cheiranthus cheiri), native to south-eastern Europe, particularly the rocky Mediterranean areas, and commonly called 'wallflower'. This cultivar is part of the Colour Vibe series, the result of a breeding programme by British breeder Charles Carr, whose aim was to create varieties with vibrant, fade-resistant colours that are easy to care for and suitable for small spaces.

'Colour Vibe Red' is upright, bushy and compact: in the ground it reaches about 50–60 cm in both height and spread. Its life cycle is that of a herbaceous perennial often behaving as a biennial, as it tends to become sparse after two to three years; however, in well-drained soil and a mild climate, it can flower for several seasons. The dense evergreen foliage is composed of narrow, lanceolate, dark green leaves that remain attractive all year round. Flowering begins in spring (around March) and continues into summer. It consists of clusters of large, velvety, vermilion-red flowers that do not change colour. The nectar-rich flowers are fragrant and attract bees and pollinators. This variety was selected at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2023 for its ornamental and horticultural potential.

Erysimum 'Colour Vibe Red' is perfect for creating dynamic scenes from early spring. It looks superb at the front of a border, in a small rock garden, in a pot on a terrace, on a balcony or near an entrance. It associates easily with spring bulbs with white or pale yellow flowers, such as daffodil 'Ice Follies' or tulip 'Sweetheart', for a vivid, luminous contrast. It also highlights perennials with silver or blue-grey foliage, such as Stachys 'Big Ears' or snow-in-summer. For a tonal harmony, it can be combined with deep red pansies, purple heucheras such as 'Cherry Cola' or even red primroses.