Ragged robin

Ragged robin: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Loose clump with a basal rosette and thin, upright stems 30–60 cm tall and about 30 cm wide.

Leaves

Rosette leaves narrow and spoon-shaped. On the stems, narrow, lance-shaped leaves in opposite pairs.

Flower

Pink, sometimes white, 3–4 cm across, with five petals each deeply split into four narrow lobes. Flowers from May to July.

Fruit

A small capsule full of fine seeds, which are shaken out of the opening when the stem moves.

Lifespan

A short-lived perennial that fades after a few years but renews itself by self-seeding.

Flowering: May–July · Sowing: March–April and September · Plants: March–May and September–October · Pruning: March and August

Why grow it?

• Delicate, ragged pink flowers from May to July, at a time when the pond edge still has little colour.
• A true nectar plant for butterflies, bumblebees and other long-tongued bees.
• Native and declining in the wild: a few plants in your garden help the species.
• Grows where it is wet: ideal for the marsh zone of a pond, a rain garden or a damp meadow.
• Self-seeds modestly and so keeps a small population going by itself.

Ragged robin: where does it grow best?

• Sun to partial shade. It flowers most freely in full sun, as long as the soil stays wet.
• Loam, clay or peaty soil, acid to neutral. It grows less well on chalky soil.
• Wet to very moist soil: a wet meadow, a ditch bank or the marsh zone of a pond, at or just above the water line.
• It tolerates a few centimetres of water above the roots now and then, but not deep water all year round.
• Plant 25–30 cm apart, preferably in groups of five or more.

Light

Sun and partial shade

Soil type

Loam, clay or peat

Acidity

Acid or neutral

Moisture

Wet

Size

0.6 m tall, 0.3 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -30 °C)

Goes well with

• Marsh marigold: Yellow flowers in April, just before ragged robin starts, in the same wet zone.
• Water forget-me-not: Small pale blue flowers low at the water’s edge, at the same time.
• Meadow buttercup: Glossy yellow beside the pink: together the picture of a wet meadow.
• Meadowsweet: Creamy, scented plumes in summer, after ragged robin has finished.
• Purple loosestrife: Purple spikes that carry on the flowering at the pond edge into September.

Ragged robin: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–May and September–October.

1. Plant from March to May or in September–October, when the soil is wet and not frozen.
2. Dig a hole slightly larger than the pot and, on poor sandy soil, mix in some leaf mould.
3. Set the plant at the same depth as in the pot. At a pond, the crown sits at or just above the water line.
4. In a lined pond, plant in an aquatic basket filled with low-nutrient aquatic soil or a mix of loam and sand, with no potting compost or fertiliser.
5. Leave 25–30 cm between plants and firm the soil well.
6. Water in straight away and keep the soil wet for the first weeks.

Care

Water

The soil must never dry out. In an ordinary border, water generously in dry summers.

Feeding

Not needed. On rich soil it becomes floppy and grasses crowd it out.

Mowing

In a meadow, mow only after seed set, from August, and remove the cuttings.

Spent flowers

In a border you can cut them off for a tidier plant, but let a few stems set seed to renew the plant.

Renewal

Keep a few seedlings every year: old plants fade out after a few years.

Tip: Sow it in damp grassland and mow only after seed set: that way this short-lived plant keeps itself going. At a pond, set the crown at the water line, not below it.

Ragged robin: when to prune it?

Pruning months: March and August.

When: In late February–March clear old stems, and in August, after seed set, cut back or mow.

How:

• In August, cut the spent stems back to above the rosette once some of the seed has dropped.
• Mow a wet meadow in August or September and remove the cuttings, so the soil does not become richer.
• In late February–March, remove dead stems and brown leaves; leave the green rosette in place.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Sowing

In March–April or September: scatter the fine seed on moist soil or in a pot and press it in, barely covering it. Keep moist; the first seedlings appear after a few weeks.

Division

In March–April: lift an older clump and pull it into pieces, each with its own rosette and roots. This is also how to propagate ‘Jenny’, which sets little seed.

Seedlings

Self-sown seedlings can be moved with a small root ball to a better spot in spring or autumn.

Ragged robin: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −30 °C.

• Fully hardy, to about −30 °C: no protection is needed in Belgium.
• The rosette often stays green in mild winters; leave it uncovered so it does not rot under a thick layer of leaves.
• Wet soil in winter is no problem, but deep water over the rosette for a long time is.

Diseases and pests

• Aphids: On young shoot tips in spring. Ladybirds and hoverfly larvae usually deal with them; otherwise hose them off.
• Slugs: Eat young rosettes and seedlings. Pick them off in the evening; at a pond, frogs and toads eat some of them too.
• Dying out after a few years: Normal for this short-lived plant. Let seed ripen and keep a few seedlings, or sow some yourself.
• Drying out: In too dry a spot it flowers briefly and soon dies. Move it to wetter soil.
• Cuckoo spit: White blobs of froth on the stems in spring. It is the protective foam of the froghopper larva and harmless to the plant.

Through the year

• March: Clear old stems. Sow and divide.
• April: Plant and sow. Watch for aphids.
• May: Flowering starts. Butterflies and bumblebees visit the flowers.
• June: Full flower. Keep the soil wet.
• July: Last flowers. The seed ripens.
• August: After seed set, cut back or mow the meadow.
• September: Sow and plant. Move seedlings.
• October: Plant at the pond edge or in wet grassland.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Butterflies

Nectar for butterflies.

Did you know?

• The plant used to be called Lychnis flos-cuculi; based on DNA studies it is now placed in the genus Silene.
• The Latin name means cuckoo flower, after the bird that calls around flowering time. The froth of froghopper larvae on the stems is still known as cuckoo spit.
• Each of the five petals is split into four lobes, so a single flower looks like a small ragged star of twenty narrow ribbons.