Common Name: catchfly
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Zone: 5 to 8
Height: 1.00 to 1.50 feet
Spread: 0.75 to 1.00 feet
Bloom Time: June to August
Bloom Description: Orange
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Medium
Flower: Showy
Tolerate: Deer, Drought, Dry Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil
Culture
Best grown in moderately fertile, well-drained soils with consistent and even moisture in full sun. Tolerates poorer soils with some dryness. Sharp soil drainage is essential. Although perennial, plants may be somewhat short-lived and are sometimes grown as annuals. Raised plantings and winter mulches may promote longer plant life. Plants may self-seed in the garden.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Lychnis × arkwrightii is a hybrid catchfly whose parents are L. calcedonica and L. × haageana. It typically grows in an upright clump to 18” tall. It is commonly called catchfly or Arkwright’s campion.
Genus name comes from the classical name said to be derived from the Greek word lychnos meaning a lamp possibly referring to the ancient use of leaves of a woolly species for wicks.
ORANGE DWARF is a dwarf cultivar that grows to 12” tall and as wide, and features dark bronze foliage and orange-red flowers in summer. It is considered by some nurseries to be a shorter version of the similar L. ‘Vesuvius’. It features ovate to lance-shaped leaves (to 2.5” long) that are bronze green. Orange-red flowers (to 1.5” across) with notched petals bloom in cymes in early summer. Flowers are followed by interesting seed pods that mature to brown.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Watch for slugs and snails.
Uses
Rock gardens. Border fronts.