Description
Common name: Sea campion. Coireán mara.
General:
This population originates from Co Down. Irish Grid reference: J5637.
Sea Campion is a pretty low growing perennial plant. It dies back over winter to emerge again in early spring. Flowering from as early as April with its main flush of flowers in May. It has an attractive purple veined bladder behind the flower head and glaucous waxy leaves adapted to coastal life.
You can leave the seed pods on the plant and the seeds that develop are tasty to some moth larvae as well as birds and of course you can save your own seed for sowing and sharing.
Benefits:
Attractive to local bumblebees and butterflies. The open flower makes it accessible to a wide range of pollinators.
Habitat:
It prefers well drained sandy soil. A native inhabitant of the shore it will do well on gravel, a rockery. It prefers full sun and the more you feed it the more flowers it’ll grow.
Sowing guidelines:
Sow late autumn or early spring into a seed tray, prick out when large enough to handle and plant out when big enough.
Cultural history:
The Latin name Silene derives from the merry, drunken god called Silenus in Greek mythology; from Irish Wild Plants by N.MacCoitir.
Avg contents: 100 seeds.
