'Dusseldorf Pride' Sea Thrift
"Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year."
-Robert Frost
(1874‚1963)
(1874‚1963)
The popular Sea Thrift cultivar 'Dusseldorf Pride' has a brighter magenta or wine-red bloom than the regular species Armeria maritima on which the tight balls of tiny blooms are a paler pink.
Adaptable to USDA zones three through nine, Sea Thrift (or Sea Pinks or Beach Thrift) grow on rocky cliffs overlooking the sea & along the edges of salt marshes. Thrifts are far-ranging wildflowers from England, Central & Northern Europe to Greenland & across Canada right on down the western side of the North American contintent.
It tolerate sea sprays & makes a great coastal garden plant. It blooms May through June, & by deadheading the bloom period can sometimes be extended into July. The turf clumps are evergreen on Puget Sound, but may die back in zones with colder winters.
The dark blue-green turf grows four or five inches high; the blooms rise up on ten-inch stems. It needs well drained soil in nearly full sun, with perhaps a little shade at the hottest part of the afternoon. It does not want much watering.