LIMONIUM (Statice)

limonium_statice Statice-purple

 

The latin name is Limonium, but to the gardener it is Statice or Sea Lavender. The popular species ( L. sinuatum or Statice sinuate ) belongs to the ‘ everlasting ‘ group and is widely grown for indoor decoration. To dry Statice, cut iust before the flowers are fully open and tie the stems in bunches. Hang upside down in a cool place away from sunlight.

 

VARIETIES : The usual practice is to buy a L. sinuatum Mixture – the winged stems bear clusters of tiny, papery-petalled flowers in many colours – white, pink, blue, yellow, orange,  etc. There are several single-colour varieties available – ‘ Gold Coast ‘ ( yellow ), ‘Rose Light’ (pink) ‘Midnight Blue’ (dark blue). An excellent choice for cutting but not fot drying is L.suworowii – tall, thin spikes clothed in tiny, pink flowers.

 

SITE & SOIL : Any well – drained garden soil, but light or medium land is preerred. Choose a sunny spot.

PLANT DETAILS : Height 1 – 2 ft. Spacing 1 ft. Flowering period July – September.