Common Name: fire pink
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Zone: 4 to 8
Height: 0.50 to 1.00 feet
Spread: 0.50 to 0.75 feet
Bloom Time: April to June
Bloom Description: Red flowers
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Medium
Flower: Showy
Attracts: Hummingbirds
Tolerate: Drought, Clay Soil, Dry Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil
Culture
Easily grown in average, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Plants prefer sunny sites in sandy or gravelly soils or in light loams with some part afternoon shade. Plants generally appreciate sharp soil drainage. Plants perform well on shaded rocky ledges. Plants are often short-lived. Some experts believe this plant grows best as a wildflower in its native habitat where it will freely self-seed.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Silene virginica, commonly called fire pink, is an herbaceous clump-forming perennial wildflower with downy and sticky stems that typically grows to 12-20” tall. It is native to rocky wooded slopes, open woods and thickets from western New York to Minnesota south to Georgia and Oklahoma. In Missouri, it is primarily found in the Ozark region. This plant features brilliant, scarlet red flowers (2” across), each with five spreading, notched-at-the-tip petals plus sepals which are united into a long sticky tube. Flowers bloom in spring (April-June) atop slender stems clad with narrow, lance-shaped, green leaves. Narrow basal leaves (to 4” long and 3/4” wide) are oblanceolate to spatula-shaped. Narrow stem leaves (to 6” long by 1 1/4” wide, but sometimes to as much as 12” long) are wider in the middle than at either end.
Genus name means catchfly or campion.
Specific epithet means of Virginia.
‘Jackson Valentine’ is a cultivar that was discovered growing on Salt Mountain near Jackson, Alabama. It matures to a compact 12” tall. Flower color is an intense coral red. Although species plants are often short-lived, this cultivar appears to have much better persistence.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems.
Uses
Best grown in meadows, open woodland areas or naturalized areas. May be used in border fronts or rock gardens.