'Arkwright's Campion' (ark-RIGHT-ee-eye)
Here is a plant with a flower color you either love or hate, the color is a very bright masculine vermilion with dark shaded foliage. Plants grow 8-15 inches tall. The flowers are large and look like a giant version of one of it parents L. chalcedonica except that the flowers are not located in a large rounded heads, but are clustered in small groups along the leaf axis next to the stems. The foliage is a dark bronzy-maroon to purplish in spring, becoming bronze-green in summer. The plants have purple tinted stems that contrast attractively with the vivid flower color. Plants bloom in late June and July. Use in full sun in the North and some shade in the South. They like a well draining, moisture retentive soil.
Zones 3-8. In zones three and four they should be mulched over the winter, because the roots are not fully hardy and can die during very cold weather, which does not kill the plant-they just form very thick multi-stemmed plants that then need to be divided in early spring, otherwise they produce small over crowded clumps with few flowers on stems only 6 inches tall. They work well in the same locations as L. x haageana. If you love bright red flowers, this is one to try: if red is too strong for you, then stay away from this one.
50 seeds
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