Clammy campion is an upright, hardy perennial growing to about 60 cm, with long spikes of bright rosy-pink flowers from May to August. Its sticky stems give it its name, and it is grown in gardens for its flowers and suits dry, sunny, well-drained spots.
Family
Caryophyllaceae (Pink & carnation family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun
Water
Water moderately while establishing, then let the soil dry out between waterings.
Soil
Well-drained, poor to average soil; tolerates stony or gritty mixes.
Temperature
Hardy in cold winters; protect pots below about -10 °C.
How easy
Easy
Native range
Europe to SW. Siberia and N. Caucasus
Climate
temperate
About
Viscaria vulgaris, the sticky catchfly or clammy campion, is a flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae.
It is an upright perennial growing to 60 cm (24 in) in height. The leaves are lanceolate. The flowers, which are 20 mm across and bright rosy-pink, appear in long whorled spikes from May to August. It grows on cliffs and rocky places. In Central Europe, Lychnis viscaria can be found in a variety of habitats, such as dry meadows, lush grasslands, stony slopes, rocky outcrops of hilly terrain, and open or sparse canopied forests. It has taken over vineyards and roadside vegetation, and farming methods that preserve open vegetation are advantageous to it.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Viscaria vulgaris 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.