Annuals Dictionary: Lychnis
Pink family
Caryophyllaceae
Lick’nis. Catchfly ; Campion . A genus of about 35 herbs, mostly from the north temperate zone and northward, some old garden favorites.
Description
Erect plants, often with sticky hairs. Leaves opposite, stipules absent. Calyx with 5 teeth. Petals 5, with claw at base, limb rounded or sometimes 2-cleft or fringed. Stamens 10.
How to Grow
Easy to grow in any ordinary, well-drained soil in full sun. Sow in early spring or, for more predictable performance, start indoors and transplant when spring bulbs are blooming. Protect seedlings from hard freezes. Prefers warm weather.
Lychnis Coeli-rosa
Rose-of-Heaven . 12-20 in. (30-50 cm) high. Flowers solitary, terminal, 1 in. (2.5 cm) wide, rose-pink. Mediterranean region. Sometimes sold as Agrostemma or as Silene . There are cultivars with red- or purple-eyed flowers or toothed petals, as well as dwarf forms. Half-hardy annual.