Content
- The spur flower in the garden: unrestricted winter hardy?
- Sun-hungry flowering plant of Mediterranean origin
- Self-sowing in the garden ensures a regularly rejuvenated plant population
- Do not choose the time of sowing too late
- Tips
Spider flowers are hardy but very short-lived
The spur flower in the garden: unrestricted winter hardy?
The spider flower (Centranthus), with its mainly white, red and pink subspecies, has become indigenous to many Central European gardens due to its rather modest care. The plant, which is rather hardy in winter, can also survive in some locations without a drop in freezing or after a certain lifetime.
Earlier article Increase the spur flower in the garden itselfSun-hungry flowering plant of Mediterranean origin
The various subspecies of spur flower are actually from areas in Mediterranean regions, but were already cultivated in the Middle Ages in many gardens of monasteries and castles. The plant, which often sprouts in barren rock crevices in its region of origin, is generally hardy in Central Europe, even without winter protection. The specialist trade usually specifies a hardiness of up to minus 20 degrees in the case of cultivars, as the plants overwinter in the soil anyway and renew each year. However, the perennial plant is rather short-lived, which is why a dying off of isolated specimens after a few years of life is possible.
Self-sowing in the garden ensures a regularly rejuvenated plant population
Since the subspecies of the genus Centranthus commonly sow relatively strong themselves, the short life of some specimens is actually no problem. Depending on the sowing time (in Centranthus two flowering phases are possible by a cut after the first flowering) the seeds germinate either in autumn or only in spring. If you allow self-sowing of the plants in the garden, you not only profit from the permanent rejuvenation of the plant's stock. It can also be quite attractive in cottage gardens and natural perennial flowerbeds, if the specimens of the spur flower itself are looking for a suitable location.
Do not choose the time of sowing too late
With a selective sowing of the seeds for a first bloom in the following year the spur flower should be sown at the latest in September. Then the young plants can hibernate well enough and start already strengthened in the new garden season. Seed the seeds as directly as possible in the bed, as plants cultivated in the pot may otherwise require frost protection due to their exposure to winter cold.
Tips
If the plant of the genus Centranthus does not come through the winter in your garden without very pronounced minus temperatures, you should take a closer look at the soil at the location. Since the spur flower can grow well only on well-drained soils, compacted, loamy soils and waterlogging are often the reason for meager growth or dying over the winter.