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How To Grow Silene Blushing Lanterns ~ Silene Vulgaris

August 5, 2021 by cheyanne

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A few years ago when we first started growing flowers at the farm, we planted many different types of flowers to see what would grow well in our area. One of these plants was Silene Blushing Lanterns, a sweet little balloon shaped flower with starburst petals. Learn how to grow Silene Blushing Lanterns – Silene vulgaris, a wonderful wildflower and filler for your bouquets.

green and purple bell shaped flowers on a grey wooden table, showing how to grow Silene blushing lanterns
freshly harvested Silene Blushing Lanterns

Silene is actually a wildflower, and a fairly common one growing right here in Nova Scotia and throughout the Maritime provinces.

Silene Blushing Lanterns- Silene Vulgaris

A member of the family Caryophyllaceae, Silene is a genus of flowering plants which contains nine hundred different species.

a hand holding up a bouquet of Silene Blushing Lanterns- Silene Vulgaris in front of a blurred evergreen tree
Silene Blushing Lanterns- Silene Vulgaris

Silene Blushing Lanterns, or Silene Vulgaris is one of those species. Commonly known also as Bladder Campion, Silene vulgarisis is native to Europe.

It is also known as Maiden’s tears.

It is found throughout North America, and often grows wild in meadows, along roadsides and streams, and in open fields.

Silene is a wildflower here in Nova Scotia, and is sometimes referred to as a weed.

I smile when I think that we brought these little seeds all the way from Washington to Nova Scotia, when we had them growing already in our own backyard.

It is however all a part of the learning experience, and it all worked out very well in the end.

Silene Flower

small round balloon-like flowers growing on stems, held up against a blurred green background
Silene flower, tiny blushing balloons with white petals

The Silene flower itself is interesting and quite charming in appearance.

It is romantic and cottage-like and a great flower for wedding work.

The calyx is the bell shaped back end of the flower, consisting of fused sepals. It has the appearance of a balloon, or bladder, thus the name “bladder” campion.

It also looks like a little lantern, from which it got it’s “blushing lantern” name.

These sweet bells can be green or lavender coloured, and we had a mixture of both in our Silene patch. There is some veining on the calyxes, and a bit of a blush to some of the flowers, hence the “blushing” reference.

The petals of the flower protrude from the opening of the calyx, and consist of five doubled white petals.

a view of silene blushing lanterns petals against a blurred green background
silene blushing lanterns petals- there are actually only five doubled petals, although it looks like there are ten
Silene flowers, Silene Blushing Lanterns- notice the petals protruding from the calyx

These protruding petals remind me of lacy britches.

The flowers form along the stems of the plant in sprays.

They make wonderful cut flowers, and will last in the vase for seven to ten days.

Silene vulgaris also drys very well if using for everlastings.

drying silene blushing lanterns
drying silene blushing lanterns

Is Silene A Perennial?

Silene, as it turns out is a perennial flowering plant.

It was planted as an annual initially, and it bloomed in it’s first year, although I was not impressed with the stem length and could not use it in bouquets that first year.

When it reappeared in the garden the second year I realized that it was a perennial.

Since it was a perennial, I reconsidered it’s bloom in the first year. I thought that blooming in the first year was in fact really impressive, as most perennials don’t bloom until the second year of growth.

When Silene returned the second year, it bloomed with much more vigor and size, and put on a wonderful display. Stem length was double to that of the first year, and we were very pleased with this sweet little plant.

How Do You Grow Silene Blushing Lanterns?

We grew Silene from seeds obtained from Floret.

Silene Seeds

  • Silene seeds are tiny black and round. They can be harvested easily from the dried flower pods when mature.
a hand holding dried silene seed pods with small black seeds
silene seeds dropping out of dried mature seed pods
a hand holding a pink bowl containing black silene vulgaris seeds, against a blurred green background
silene vulgaris seeds
  • We started our Silene flower seeds indoors in winter, as we do most of our seeds for the farm.
  • Normally we stratify both perennial and hardy annual seeds.
  • Since I was planting Silene as an annual that first year it did not receive any stratification, and it seemed to grow quite well anyway, with good germination results.

How Do You Plant Silene Seeds?

  • Silene seeds can be planted indoors into trays with a good seed starting mix, or sown directly outside into the garden.
a black seedling cell tray with soil and vermiculite, showing how to grow Silene blushing lanterns
sowing in cell trays, and covering with vermiculite

When To Sow Silene Seeds

  • If starting indoors, the seeds can be sown in late winter or early spring. We generally start our seeds indoors in March.
  • We grow in zone 5b so our seed sowing is much more successful if started earlier indoors. The plants are larger and more mature when ready for planting out.
  • We often get late spring frosts which can damage the seedlings grown outside in early spring.
  • That being said, perennials and hardy annuals generally will tolerate late spring frosts, and actually can benefit from these frosts if stratification is required.
  • For Silene, choosing either method of planting should be a viable one.
  • If sowing your Silene seeds directly into the garden, this can be done in the fall or spring.
a bouquet of silene blushing lanterns on a round grey weathered wooden table
silene blushing lanterns

Silene Blushing Lanterns Germination

  • After the seeds were sown in cell trays they were bottom watered to moisten the soil.
  • They were then placed on a heat mat for bottom heat to aide in the germination.
  • Make sure to keep the soil moist until the seeds germinate, and do not let it dry out.
  • Germination should occur within one to two weeks.
  • Using heat mats has been a game changer for us when starting seeds indoors.
  • It has contributed to successful seed starting and is an important part of our set up.
  • If growing inside, grow under grow lights until the seedlings are ready to be hardened off and planted into the garden.
  • Generally for us, the seedlings are at least six to eight weeks old before planting out.

Where To Plant Silene

balloon-like flowers with white petals, growing in a field
plant silene blushing lanterns in a sunny location
  • Plant the Silene seedlings in a sunny spot with well drained soil.
  • They will tolerate some shade, however Silene Blushing Lanterns will grow better in full sun.
  • Our Silene grows very well in clay soil in a sunny location.
  • We planted it in landscape fabric twelve inches apart.

How To Care For Your Silene Blushing Lanterns Plant

  • Silene Blushing Lanterns do not really require much extra care.
  • They are herbaceous perennials and the plant dies back into the ground every winter.
  • Deadhead and clean up plant debris as necessary.
spent silene vulgaris seed pods, dried and full of seeds, laying on a grey wooden box with a blurred background
spent silene vulgaris seed pods, dried and full of seeds

How To Deadhead Silene

  • Harvesting regularly will produce more blooms throughout the growing season.
  • It also removes the stems from the plant and prevents seed formation.
brown spent flowers in the garden
spent blushing lanterns, turning brown in the garden
  • Stems that are not harvested will remain in place on the plant. The flowers will turn brown, and quickly produce tiny black seeds, which are then self sown.
  • Deadheading spent blooms will help to prevent self sowing.
  • To deadhead, cut the stems back, down to the sets of leaves at the base of the plant.

Is Silene Vulgaris Invasive?

silene vulgaris growing in the garden
silene vulgaris growing in the garden

Silene vulgaris has escaped cultivation and naturalized in many areas of North America.

It is listed in the Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States.

How Big Does Silene Grow?

silene vulgaris flowers bunched in a bouquet, sitting on a grey box
stems of Silene vulgaris, Silene Blushing Lanterns, bunched together in a small bouquet

Silene’s height will vary, depending on age and area where it is planted.

Ours was much taller in the second year of growth.

Stems were approximately twenty-four inches or two feet in length, perhaps a little longer.

Typical stem height for this plant is eighteen to thirty inches.

We had another patch growing in a partially shady location. These plants were shorter than those growing in full sun.

Is Silene Hardy?

a bouquet of silene vulgaris laying on a grey wooden box on a wooden deck
silene vulgaris is hardy to zone 4

Silene vulgaris is a hardy perennial. It grows very well here in Nova Scotia Canada, and in our own growing zone of 5b.

Silene Blushing Lanterns Zone

Silene is hardy from zones 4 to 7.

It is able to endure freezing winter temperatures often as low as -20°C, only to return to bloom the following growing season.

Is Silene Vulgaris Edible?

balloon like flowers with white petals on a grey wooden railing
silene vulgaris is an edible plant

I always like to know the history of our flowers, and a bit of background on traditional use.

Silene Vulgaris has in fact been used in cuisines in Europe, and the plant is edible.

It is mainly the leaves that are eaten, and the taste is compared to pea sprouts. Apparently it is slightly bitter if eaten raw, however cooking removes the bitter flavour.

We will definitely be giving these a try.

RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS FROM THIS POST

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Cell Trays For Seedlings

Heat Mat

Seed Starting Mix

Vermiculite

Have you ever tried to grow Silene Blushing Lanterns?

Be sure to leave a comment below to share your experience!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brenda

    November 7, 2021 at 11:59 am

    Hello! I grew Silene Blushing Lanterns for the first time this past season and loved them! I found your very informative post as I was wondering if I might be able to overwinter them in my 6b growing zone. Do you provide protection for the plants with any type of mulch (leaves/compost) or row cover? I am going to attempt to overwinter mine with hopes of survival and spring blooms! Thank you in advance for any information you might share!

    • cheyanne

      November 7, 2021 at 1:01 pm

      Hi thanks for your comment! Yes they should do very well in zone 6b, and require little extra care. Ours survived our harsh zone 5b winters with no problem, and these wildflowers are actually native to our province. The second year growth was much better than the first. Good luck with your blooms!

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Hello, I'm Chey! I'm so glad you're here! Join me and my family on our flower farming journey. We have a harbour-side farm property, which we are slowly transforming into a little flower farm. We are completely renovating our farmhouse from the ground up, and will be sharing lots of posts on farmhouse life, simple living, and all things that bloom! Read More…

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