Armeria maritima
| Armeria maritima | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 0.3' |
| Width: | 0.5' |
| Speed: | Slow |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Armeria maritima (common name: sea thrift)
Propagation: Seed - pre-soak for 8 hours in warm water and then sow in pots of sandy soil in a cold frame. Germination usually takes place in 2 - 3 weeks at 15°c[1]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter, planting them out in late spring or early summer.
Division in spring or after flowering[2]. Fairly easy, large divisions can be planted out straight into their permanent positions whilst it is probably best to pot up smaller divisions and to grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are rooting well.
Cultivation: Succeeds in most soils including clay and poor sands[3]. Prefers a well-drained sandy soil with added leaf mould and a sunny position[4][2][1]. Requires an acid soil according to one report[5] whilst others say that it dislikes acid soils. Plants are very wind-tolerant and succeed in maritime gardens[6]. Established plants are drought tolerant[7]. Succeeds when grown at the top of a retaining wall or a cavity wall[8].
The plant tolerates light treading[3]. It forms a slowly expanding clump and makes a good edging plant[2].
The flower is a symbol of sympathy, used at funerals[10].
Range: W. Europe, including Britain, from Iceland to N. Spain.
Habitat: Coastal salt marshes, pastures and maritime cliffs[11]. Dry, sandy, somewhat acidic soils in sandy turf, coastal salt marshes, cliffs and mountain pastures[12].
Edibility: Leaves - cooked[13]. Used for slimming[14].
Root[15]. No more details are given[15].
Medicinal: Sea thrift is rarely used in herbal medicine, though the dried flowering plant is antibiotic and has been used in the treatment of obesity, some nervous disorders and urinary infections[12]. It cannot be used externally as an antibiotic poultice because it can cause dermatitis or local irritation[12].
Usage: A good ground-cover for a sunny position[3]. The cultivar 'Vindictive' has been especially recommended[16] and so has 'Alba'[7]. Plants form a slowly spreading carpet[17].
Pollinators: Bees, flies, beetles, lepidoptera
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates maritime wind exposure
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: A. elongata. A. vulgaris. Statice armeria. S. maritima.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan, 1988.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sanders, Thomas. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge, 1926.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Baines, Chris. Making a Wildlife Garden.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Chatto, Beth. The Damp Garden. Dent, 1982.
- ↑ Grey-Wilson, Christopher and Victoria Matthews. Gardening on Walls. Collins, 1983.
- ↑ Carter, David. Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe. Pan, 1982.
- ↑ Freethy, Ron. From Agar to Zenery. The Crowood Press, 1985.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Stuart, Malcolm. The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism. Orbis Publishing, 1979.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Moore, David. Flora of Tierra del Fuego. Anthony Nelson, 1983.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Plants for Ground Cover. Everyman, 1990.