Rose campion
Silene coronaria · Caryophyllaceae
Vivid magenta or white flowers on branching, silver-white stems above rosettes of felted, grey leaves. Each plant lives two or three years and seeds itself freely.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Early June to late July
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Weaver
A bed built around rose campion
The planner designed this bed around rose campion 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 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why rose campion stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Rose campion × 1, pink
- 2 Winter heath × 7, white
- 3 Sea thrift × 3, pink
- 4 Wild quinine × 8, white
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 7 Star of Persia × 5, purple
- 8 Schubert's allium × 4, pink
Why this plant
- The only open bowls. The others are bells, globes, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- In the middle. At 2½ ft it is the step between sea thrift (8 in) in front and wild quinine (3½ ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- One plant. An accent is used singly, like a punctuation mark.
Why now
- In flower for 8 weeks. From early June to late July.
- Part of the bed's peak. With sea thrift, star of Persia and Schubert's allium in early June: 4 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as a cottage garden: 23 of the 23 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. For contrast, the bold leaves of wild quinine sit beside the fine leaves of winter heath. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 53% of the visual weight and the right half 47%.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where rose campion goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft). 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.
The magenta is one of the strongest colours in the garden, and its own silver leaves are the best foil for it. The white form is easier to place. Let a few seedlings replace the parents.
- Silver foliage with bright flowers
- Cottage gardens
- Dry, poor soil
What to plant with rose campion
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lamb's ear: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its medium ones; low enough (12 in) to stand in front of it.
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': in flower together for eight weeks, from early June; happy in the same dry soil.
- Salvia 'May Night': in flower together for six weeks, from early June.
Questions about rose campion
Does rose campion need sun or shade?
Rose campion grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does rose campion grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does rose campion flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early June to late July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Mid June to early August |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Early June to late July |
| Zone 6 | Early June to late July |
| Zone 7 | Late May to mid July |
| Zone 8 | Late May to mid July |
| Zone 9 | Late May to mid July |
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 rose campion be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many rose campion plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 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 one in one group.
Is rose campion poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like rose campion?
Rose campion comes from East Central & Southeast Europe to Northern Iran, Central Asia. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Flowering spurge: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers early July to late August, white, not pink.
- Gaura 'Whirling Butterflies': the same job in a bed; 6 in taller, flowers mid June to mid September.
- Whorled milkweed: the same job in a bed; 6 in shorter, flowers late June to late August.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat rose campion?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
Will rose campion spread?
It seeds itself about; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Short-lived, but keeps going by self-seeding. Thin or move seedlings where they are not wanted.
What flowers after rose campion?
Rose campion is over by late July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Black-eyed Susan 'American Gold Rush': from mid July to early October, 24 in tall.
- Garden phlox: from mid July to early September, 3½ ft tall.
What does rose campion look like in winter?
Rose campion holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
More Silene
- Maltese cross Silene chalcedonica
- Ragged robin Silene flos-cuculi
In these guides
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for a white garden
- Silver and grey-leaved plants
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle, or further forward: it is airy enough to see through
- Flowers
- Early June to late July; open bowls; pink, white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; silver
- Shape
- Upright, self-seeding
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Caryophyllaceae
- Comes from
- East Central & Southeast Europe to Northern Iran, Central Asia
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, poor soil
Checked against NC State Extension. 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.