Catchfly (Silene Armeria) FLOWERS SEED, ! Annual, Biennial

 Catchfly is a slender annual from Europe. It grows to 22 inches tall and produces pink flowers with 5 notched petals. It works well in wildflower mixtures, the cutting garden and the pollinator garden. Attracts bumble bees, skippers and hawkmoths. Appreciates afternoon shade in hot climates.

Silene armeria is a catchfly that is native to Europe, but has escaped gardens and naturalized over time in parts of eastern and central North America and the Pacific Northwest. It is typically grown in U.S. gardens as a cool weather annual or biennial. Plants rise to 12-16” tall on upright stems clad with oval to lanceolate gray-green leaves (to 3” long). Oblanceolate basal leaves typically wither by mid-summer. Rounded clusters (flat-topped cymes) of rose-pink to magenta-pink flowers (each to 1/2” across) bloom in late summer. Each flower has 5 shallowly notched petals. The stems of this species are sticky and may snare small insects, hence the common name of catchfly. This species is also commonly called sweet William catchfly or none-so-pretty.

Prepare a seedbed outdoors by weeding and loosening the top several inches of soil. Directly sow the Silene seeds outdoors after danger of frost has passed. Press the Silene Pendula Triumph seed into the soil but do not cover them. Keep the flower seeds moist until germination.