Ragged robin
Silene flos-cuculi · Caryophyllaceae
Rose-pink flowers with petals cut into four ragged strips, on thin, branching stems, like pink mist over a damp meadow.
- Size
- 24 in tall, 12 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late May to early July
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Weaver
A bed built around ragged robin
The planner designed this bed around ragged robin when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 251 that suit those conditions and its wet soil, and says below why ragged robin stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Ragged robin × 4, pink
- 2 Himalayan fleeceflower 'Darjeeling Red' × 5, pink
- 3 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 16, yellow
- 4 White snakeroot 'Chocolate' × 3, white
- 5 Swamp milkweed × 3, pink
- 6 Inkberry 'Gem Box' × 1, dark green leaves
- 7 Checkered lily × 10, purple
- 8 Snowdrop × 10, white
Why this plant
- The only airy sprays. The others are spires, daisies, dense clusters and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- In the middle. At 24 in it is the step between Himalayan fleeceflower 'Darjeeling Red' (10 in) in front and white snakeroot 'Chocolate' (3½ ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- A step in the back row. Next to white snakeroot 'Chocolate' (3½ ft) and swamp milkweed (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 4 plants in 4 places. An accent is a punctuation mark: the repeat along the bed gives it rhythm.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From late May to early July.
- Fills a gap. For two of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 32 of the 32 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Pink is the colour seen most, on 3 of the 7 kinds grown for their flowers. White snakeroot 'Chocolate' and swamp milkweed anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there.
The planner's own design check: 8 Excellent, 9 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where ragged robin goes in a border
At 24 in it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in). It is airy enough to see through, so it can also come forward and veil what is behind it.
Its job: weaver. A light, airy plant threaded singly between sturdier ones to knit the planting together.
A European wild flower of wet meadows that seeds itself gently along a pond edge or through moist grass. It is light enough to thread through anything.
- Damp meadows and pond edges
- Naturalising in moist grass
- Weaving through a wet border
What to plant with ragged robin
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Marsh marigold: flowers first, mid April to early May, so the spot is never empty; happy in the same wet soil.
- Blue flag iris: in flower together for four weeks, from late May; happy in the same wet soil.
- Tufted hair grass: in flower together for three weeks, from late June.
Questions about ragged robin
Does ragged robin need sun or shade?
Ragged robin grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants moist to wet soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does ragged robin grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 7 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does ragged robin flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to early July. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Early June to mid July |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Late May to mid July |
| Zone 5 | Late May to early July |
| Zone 6 | Mid May to early July |
| Zone 7 | Early May to late June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should ragged robin be planted?
10 in (25 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 12 in (30 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 24 in (60 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many ragged robin plants do I need?
At 10 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 17 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 13 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 55 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, threaded between sturdier plants.
In the bed above, the planner used four in four groups.
Is there a native plant like ragged robin?
Ragged robin is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Rocky Mountain columbine: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; blue, not pink, wants average soil.
- Harebell: the same job in a bed; belongs at the front, not in the middle, 12 in shorter.
- Blue-eyed grass: the same flowering time; an edging, not a weaver, belongs at the front, not in the middle.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Will ragged robin spread?
It seeds itself about; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Self-seeds in damp, open ground and has naturalised in the Northeast. Cut it back after flowering to limit seedlings.
What flowers after ragged robin?
Ragged robin is over by early July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
- Butterfly weed: from late June to early August, 24 in tall.
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall.
What does ragged robin look like in winter?
Ragged robin dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Silene
- Maltese cross Silene chalcedonica
- Rose campion Silene coronaria
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 24 in (60 cm) tall, 12 in (30 cm) wide
- Plant
- 10 in (25 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Middle, or further forward: it is airy enough to see through
- Flowers
- Late May to early July; airy sprays; pink
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, self-seeding
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, moist to wet
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Caryophyllaceae
Checked against VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.