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Silene chalcedonica
Also called Scarlet Lychnis, London-pride, Maltesecross, Maltese Cross Campion
Maltese-cross is a hardy perennial with brilliant red, Maltese-cross shaped flowers in summer. It grows best in full sun or part shade in well-drained soil that stays evenly moist.
Silene chalcedonica (syn. Lychnis chalcedonica), the Maltese-cross or scarlet lychnis, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Eurasia. Other common names include flower of Bristol, Jerusalem cross and nonesuch.
It is a popular ornamental plant and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
It is a popular ornamental plant in gardens. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Numerous cultivars have been selected, varying in flower colour from bright red to orange-red, pink or white. It grows best in partial to full sun and in any good well-drained soil, if provided with a constant moisture supply. The flowering period is extended if faded flowers are removed. It is short-lived in poorly drained soil. Double-flowered cultivars are propagated by division.
The species is native to central and eastern Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and northwestern China. It has naturalised in some parts of North America. It can be found along roadsides and other disturbed areas, as well as open woodlands, in the northern United States and Canada.
Moss campion · Pink Family · Silene banksia · Silene cognata · Weed silene · Crown-pink · Forked Catchfly · Ragged Robin · Silene flos-jovis · Common catchfly · Bladder campion · Nightflowering silene
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Silene chalcedonica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
