Silene chalcedonica

Silene chalcedonica

€6,00
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Silene chalcedonica
  • Silene chalcedonica
  • Silene chalcedonica
Silene chalcedonica

Silene chalcedonica

€6,00

Silene chalcedonica, commonly known as Maltese cross, is a striking perennial admired for its clusters of brilliant scarlet-red flowers that light up the garden in early to mid-summer.

With its upright habit and bold colour, it’s perfect for adding structure and intensity to borders, cottage gardens, and naturalistic plantings. Its nectar-rich blooms attract bees and butterflies, making it an excellent choice for pollinator-friendly spaces.

Hardy and easy to grow, Silene chalcedonica thrives in full sun and well-drained soils, offering reliable performance and vibrant seasonal interest with minimal care.
Flowering June, July, August, September
Flower Color Red
Exposure Full Sun
Frost Tolerance -29°C
Size 80cm H x 40cm W
Soil Dry, Well Draining, Rocky
Origin Central and eastern Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and northwestern China
Planting Season March to May, September to November
pda658
€6,00
In stock

🪴9x9 cm

🚂 Ships across EU
🌱 Grown in our nursery

🔴 Intense red flowers with strong visual impact
🌸 Blooms in early to mid-summer
🐝 Attracts pollinators
🌱 Hardy and easy to grow
🌿 Ideal for borders and cottage-style gardens
Gardening Tips

- The more Silenes you have in one place, the greater the effect will be as the tall stems create a spider web of fuzzy grey, dotted with bright pink bursts of color.
- Deadhead regularly to encourage continuous flowering or shear after the initial flowering to promote a second flush of flowers later in the season.
The Botany

The genus can be confusing - the white and red flowers belong to the Lychnis genus while the pink flowers belong to the Silene family.

The genus Lychnis, from the northern temperate zone, is quite variable, but all species have vividly-colored flowers. The genus name, used by Theophrastus from the Greek work lychnos which means “lamp”, is thought to refer to the use of the woolly leaves as lamp wicks in ancient times.

The specific epithet chalcedonica refers to the ancient town of Chalcedon in what is now Turkey

The bright red flowers are produced in clusters of 10-50 together. Each flower is around 1–3 cm in diameter with a deeply five-lobed corolla, each lobe being further split into two smaller lobes. This forms a general shape similar to that of the Maltese crossto which it owes one of its common names. The fruit is a dry capsule containing numerous seeds.
The Myth

Numerous common names are attached to this plant, including:

Burning love
Common rose campion (also used for Silene coronaria)
Constantinople campion
Dusky salmon
Fireball
Flower of Bristol
Flower of Constantinople
Gardener's delight
Gardener's eye
Great candlestick
Jerusalem cross
Knight's cross
Maltese cross
Meadow campion
Nonesuch
Red robin
Scarlet lightning
Scarlet lychnis
Tears of Christ

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