ARMERIA MARITIMA seed

LATIN NAME: Armeria maritima

COMMON NAME: Sea Thrift

Sea thrift grows where the sea wind hits, and it flowers anyway. The low, tough, evergreen perennial forms the dense, neat cushions of the narrow, dark-green, grass-like leaves, and the small, round heads of the pink or white flowers rise on the slender stems through the spring and the summer, one of the fine sights of the coast and the rockery. The plant is one of the great, easy presences of the poor, dry ground, flowering freely where much else gives up. It is a plant of the open, sunny, very well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The sea thrift is a small, hardy subject of the plant science, studied for the dense, neat cushions and the way the plant stands the sea wind and the salt. Researchers have looked at the way the plant grows on the poor, dry, salty ground, and it keeps showing up in the work on the coastal plants, the rock-garden perennials and the members of the leadwort family. The narrow, grass-like leaves and the low, tough habit have also made it a fine garden plant, and the sea thrift is a regular subject of the studies of the tough plants of the coast.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The sea thrift is the tough, neat cushion of the coast and the rockery. The dense cushions of the narrow, dark-green leaves fill the rockery, the wall top and the poor, dry bank, and the round heads of the pink or white flowers rise on the slender stems through the spring and the summer. The plant stands the sea wind, the salt and the dry ground with the ease, and it is one of the fine, easy choices for the difficult, exposed spots. It has drawn attention in the international horticultural and the coastal-conservation press for the neat cushions and the very tough ways, and it is a fine, long-lived plant of the open, sunny, very well-drained garden.

The sea thrift is one of the tough, neat cushions of the coast, and the round heads of the pink or white flowers rise on the slender stems through the spring and the summer. The plant stands the sea wind, the salt and the dry ground with the ease.

To grow the sea thrift from seed, sow the small, neat seeds over the surface of a tray of damp seed compost, pressing them in lightly, keep the tray in a bright, open spot and water gently. The seedlings come up within a couple of weeks and grow on steadily. Give them the sun and the very well-drained ground, and the pink heads will rise through the summer.

THIS IS A WONDERFUL ADDITION TO ANY ROCK GARDEN,BORDER OR

EVEN CUT FLOWER,IT IS AN EASY GROWN PLANT WITH A VERY LONG

FLOWERING PERIOD,WITH BALL SHAPED FLOWERS ON WIRY STEMS

WILL TOLERATE ANY SOIL CONDITIONS,FULL SUN OR PARTIAL SHADE

IT IS EVEN PRETTY WHEN NOT IN FLOWER,HEIGHT OF APPROX 1 FOOT