Armeria maritima
Thrift
Common names: Sea Thrift, Sea Pink, Common Thrift
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Pot size
- from 5 l
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Flowering
- May–Aug
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −30 °C
- Water need
- Low
- Origin
- Native to Germany
Photo: CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Thrift, botanically Armeria maritima, is an evergreen cushion perennial with dense, grass-like leaf tufts. The cushion stays low at 10 to 15 cm and widens to 20 to 30 cm over the years. From May to July, or to August with regular deadheading, leafless stems up to 30 cm tall rise above the cushion, each bearing a spherical flower head in pink, red, or white. In the wild it grows on coasts, in salt marshes and dunes, and inland on nutrient-poor sandy grasslands. It is protected in nature, so it must not be picked or dug up; plants and seed are available from nurseries. In the garden it suits rock gardens, the edges of sunny beds, gravel areas, planters, or the top of a dry stone wall. Bees and butterflies visit the flowers, and the foliage stays green through winter. It is undemanding when given a sunny, lean spot without waterlogging.
Care instructions
Plant thrift in spring or September in a full-sun position with lean, well-drained soil. Set the plants so the leaf rosettes sit at soil level, and allow about 25 cm of spacing. In the first summer, water during prolonged drought; afterward it largely looks after itself. No fertilizer is needed. Cut spent flower heads together with their stems, and it often produces new flowers until late summer. Divide the cushion every three to four years, once the centre becomes bare. Common mistakes are heavy, wet soil and too much shade, both of which cause the cushions to rot or thin out.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingMar–Jun
FloweringMay–Aug
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 10 °C, ideally 18 °C
- Days to sprout
- 14 to 28 days
- Light
- Needs light to sprout
- Sowing depth
- Press in, don't cover
- How to start
- Start indoors, then plant out
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
sandy, well-drained, lean, dry
Thrift grows best in sandy, poor and free-draining soil, as found on coasts and in sandy grassland. The soil may be slightly acidic to neutral. It does not like heavy, wet soil, where the cushions rot, especially in winter. On clay, mix in plenty of sand or fine gravel, or plant it on a small mound. In nutrient-rich soil it becomes soft, flowers less well and loses its compact shape.
Feeding
Light feeder
Thrift needs no fertiliser. It is adapted to nutrient-poor sandy soils, and extra food makes the cushions soft and makes them flower less. In a container, too, it is enough to swap the top layer of soil for fresh, sandy compost in spring.
Overwintering
Thrift is fully hardy and stays green in winter too. In the bed you need to do nothing; only wet harms it: on heavy soils, a layer of gravel around the cushion helps the water drain away. In a container, place the pot against a sheltered house wall and make sure it does not stand in a saucer.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
- Division
The surest way to propagate thrift is by division. Straight after flowering or in September, dig up the cushion, divide it into palm-sized pieces with roots and replant them immediately. This also rejuvenates older cushions that go bare in the middle. Sowing is also possible: from March, sow in trays, cover the seeds only thinly and keep the soil evenly moist; germination often drags on over several weeks. Plant the young plants out from May; they often flower only in the second year. Seedlings often flower in different colours from the mother plant; you keep cultivars only by division.
For your garden
Grow Thrift yourself
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