Silene Species, Royal Catchfly

It's now blooming in my zone 7b garden. Eye catching bright red blooms!

Native to the U.S., Royal Catchfly is a rare plant that has endangered status in Illinois and many other states. Attracts hummingbirds. T...Read Morehis species is pollinated by the ruby throated hummingbird, and in fact requires visits by this vibrant bird in order to produce fruit and set seeds. The nectar of the flowers attracts the larger butterflies such as the Black Swallowtail.

It is fairly easy to grow, but it is slower than others and it dislikes excessive shading. Royal Catchfly blooms June-August and makes an excellent garden plant. Good companion plants are Tall Larkspur (Delphinium exaltatum), Wild Quinine (Parthenium integrifolium), and Little Bluestem (Andropogon scoparius).

Occurs in dry, rocky soils in open woods, wood margins and prairies. A clump-forming perennial which grows 3-4' tall. Small clusters of 5-petaled, scarlet red flowers (2" across) appear in summer. Sticky calyx can trap or "catch" small insects, hence the common name. Long, slender, often rec.lining stems. 10-20 pairs of downy, lance-shaped leaves (to 5" long).

This wonderful prairie beauty is growing extremely well here in the piedmont of S.C. It doesn't get full sun but bloomed the first year ...Read Moreafter planting. It currently has 3 rosettes after starting from 1 last season. The thing that has impressed me most thus far, is how long this great native blooms. Even though it remained near 95 for most of its bloom time last year, it bloomed vigorously nonetheless.

Some good complement flowers include Indian Paintbrush, Blanket Flower, Black Eyed Susan and Cardinal Flower.

This plant showed up a year ago in a border bed across the front of the house. It bloomed in late summer and I was thrilled to see that ...Read Moreit was S. regia. It was used quite a bit by my hummers. It is growing right outside a living room window. I collected seeds in the fall and have winter sown a small cell pak of seeds to increase my stand and pass any extras along to local hummgardeners.