Code:510
Cuckoos are also getting sadly thin on the ground
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Common name: Ragged Robin, Cuckoo flower
Plant Classification: Hardy perennial
Minimum Height: 45 cm
Maximum Height: 60 cm
Also known as “Ragged Robin” and “Cuckoo Flower”. This graceful plant carries jagged, deeply cleft red flowers on slender stems in early summer. This plant, nowadays quite rare, reputedly flowers as the cuckoo arrives. Cuckoos are also getting sadly thin on the ground, but you can at least judge when you ought to be listening out!
Sowing advice:
For best results, sow seeds immediately onto a good soil-based compost. Cover the seeds with fine grit or compost to approximately their own depth. They can be sown at any time, and germination can sometimes be quicker if kept at 15 to 20 degrees C. However, we sow most seeds in an unheated greenhouse and wait for natural germination as many seeds have built-in dormancy mechanisms, and often wait for spring before emerging regardless of when they are sown. But spring sowing will obviously give them a full season of growth if successful germination occurs.
*Lychnis flos-cuculi is known for attracting bees. Its nectar-pollen-rich-flowers.
Habitat:
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), floodplain (river or stream floodplains), meadows and fields.
