Elegant clarkia

Elegant clarkia: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Upright, sparsely branched plant 40–60 cm tall and 25–30 cm wide, with often reddish stems.

Leaves

Oval to lance-shaped, 2–6 cm, grey-green, sometimes flushed red.

Flower

Flowers 2–4 cm across in the leaf axils along the stem, with four petals narrowing into a slender claw at the base, from June to August.

Colour

Pink, salmon, lilac, purple, red and white, single or double.

Fruit

Narrow, elongated seed capsules containing many small seeds.

Flowering: June–August · Sowing: March–May

Why grow it?

• A fine cut flower that lasts well in a vase; the buds still open in water.
• Flowers from June to August.
• Bees and bumblebees readily visit the flowers.
• Easy: sown directly and needs little care.
• Also grows in light partial shade and in soil that is not too rich.

Elegant clarkia: where does it grow best?

• Sun to light partial shade.
• Light, well-drained soil: sand or loam, acid to neutral and not too rich.
• Moderately moist; no wet feet.
• Sow in rows 25–30 cm apart and thin to 20–25 cm between plants.

Light

Sun and partial shade

Soil type

Sand or loam

Acidity

Acid or neutral

Moisture

Normal

Size

0.6 m tall, 0.3 m wide

Hardiness

Tolerates light frost (to -5 °C)

Goes well with

• Cornflower: Blue flowers next to the pink, in the border and in the vase.
• Love-in-a-mist: Fine foliage and blue flowers in the same not-too-rich soil.
• Thorow-wax: Yellow-green filler in the cutting bed.
• Bishop’s flower: White, airy umbels between the straight flower stems.
• Godetia: A close relative with larger, cup-shaped flowers.

Elegant clarkia: when and how to plant it?

1. Sow directly in situ from March to May: it dislikes being transplanted.
2. Rake the soil to a fine tilth and sow thinly in rows 25–30 cm apart, covering the seed only very lightly.
3. Keep the soil moist until the seed germinates, usually in 1–3 weeks.
4. Thin to 20–25 cm between plants.
5. Sow a new row every three to four weeks for a longer flowering season.
6. Do not feed: too much fertiliser gives floppy stems.

Care

Water

Water at the base in dry spells; otherwise little is needed.

Feeding

Not needed. Rich soil gives lots of leaves and floppy stems.

Support

In a windy spot, put a few twigs or a net between the plants.

Cutting

Cut stems when the first flowers open and remove the lower leaves.

Deadheading

Remove faded parts of the stems and flowering will continue longer.

Tip: Sow it in poor soil without fertiliser and cut the stems for the vase when the first flowers are open: the remaining buds will still open in water.

Elegant clarkia: when to prune it?

When: Clarkia is not pruned. Regular cutting for the vase or removing faded parts keeps it flowering longer.

How:

• Cut stems for the vase when the lowest flowers are open.
• Cut faded parts of the stems back to just above a side shoot.
• At the end of flowering, let a few stems set seed if you want to sow your own.
• Pull the plants up after flowering.

Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Sow in situ from March to May, covering only very lightly, and thin to 20–25 cm.

Saving seed

In late summer, pick the capsules as soon as they turn brown and dry, and store the seed somewhere dry and cool.

Self-sowing

On bare soil it sometimes self-sows lightly; thin the seedlings.

Elegant clarkia: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −5 °C: protect in harsh winters.

• Annual: the plant dies after flowering. Young plants tolerate light frost down to about −5 °C.
• Clear the plants after flowering.
• Store saved seed somewhere dry and cool until spring.

Diseases and pests

• Slugs: They eat young seedlings. Pick them off in the evening and keep an eye on young sowings.
• Foot rot: The plant collapses and rots at the base in wet, heavy soil. Sow in a well-drained spot and do not overwater.
• Flopping stems: Soil too rich or a windy spot. Do not feed and provide support.
• Grey mould: Grey fluff on flowers and leaves in wet summers. Thin out and cut off affected parts.
• Aphids: Small aphids on the shoot tips. Spray off with water.

Through the year

• March: Sow in situ in fine, unfed soil.
• April: Sow. Thin to 20–25 cm.
• May: Last sowing. Add support in windy spots.
• June: Flowering begins. Cut for the vase.
• July: Full flower. Water in dry spells.
• August: Last flowers. Collect seed.
• September: Clear the plants. Store seed dry.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• The genus is named after William Clark, who with Meriwether Lewis led a famous expedition across western North America between 1804 and 1806.
• The species name unguiculata comes from the Latin unguis (nail, claw), after the narrow base of the petals.
• Godetia or farewell-to-spring (Clarkia amoena) is a close relative in the same genus.