Silene coronaria (L.) J.P. de Clairville Rose Campion (Agrostemma coronaria, Coronaria coronaria, Lychnis coronaria) • Rose Campion, also known as Bloody William, Crown Pink, Dusty Miller, or Mullein Pink, is an old- fashioned flower enjoying a bit of a comeback in American gardens; this member of the Caryophyllaceae is a weak USDA hardiness zones 4 (3) to 8 perennial which is frequently used as a biennial, transition season annual or early summer annual in various portions of our region; the light whitish green to silver gray pubescent leaves and stems contrast with the rose magenta flowers of the species type, creating a very striking focal point; individual plants tend to be a bit lanky and gangly, but blend together to create an upright mass when grown in groupings; the erect plants are typically 18 to 24 tall, but can be up to 36 on favorable sites; basal leaves have petioles, are larger, 3 to 5 long, and grow more densely, whereas leaves on flowering stalks are in obvious pairs, much smaller, sessile and more widely spaced; individual flowers are borne terminally and are about 1 across, resembling a small Dianthus chinensis flower with fuzzy whitish bracts; white or pink flowering cultivars are sometimes encountered, but these flowers do not contrast with the foliage as well as the rose magenta or nearly red selections; likewise the selections with more silvery foliage are generally preferable to the more green foliaged strains. • Silene coronaria is a European and Middle Eastern native which has naturalized in many locations around the world and locally throughout the USA; it is even sometimes included in wildflower mixes; easily grown in most any moist well drained soil; Rose Campion is sometimes touted as drought tolerant, but is not really the case in our region where its main issues are with summer heat and drought; thus, S. coronaria is usually treated as an annual or fall planted biennial in Texas; on the up side deer tend to eat other plants first, but on the down side this plant can become weedy on favorable sites. • Possible uses for S. coronaria include massing, silver leaved accents, inclusion in mixed borders, cottage gardens, naturalizing along pathways or in wildflower meadows, and where the plants return regularly over several years as members of the perennial border; this species is sometimes used as a cut flower but is short-lived in this capacity; the genus name is the Greek name for a related genus of plants; the specific epithet refers to the former use of the flowers in garlands or floral crowns.

Copyright 2014 by Michael A. Arnold with all rights reserved; intended for future inclusion in Landscape Plants For Texas And Environs, Fourth Edition.