Ragged Robins

Lychnis flos-cuculi. Yeah, that's a mouthful, even for me who can say "Myriosclerotinia caricis-ampullaceae" without batting an eye. Let's call these little pretties by their common name, Ragged Robins. They came to me as seeds. I planted them in a big flower pot late one autumn and promptly forgot all about them. The following spring, when the sprouts came up, I took a look at them and said, "Huh, some new kind of weed," and pulled 99% of them up by their roots! A few weeks later, it registered: "Oh, dammit! Those were my Ragged Robins!" Fortunately, the 1% which had escaped my fury grew, flowered, matured, and self-sowed themselves nicely. They're still mostly confined to the pot, although a few are coming up at the base of it where seed has spilled over. They do have to be kept in check so they don't take over the world.

Ragged Robin

Day 232: A couple of years ago, my sister-of-the-heart Patty sent me some seed from her Ragged Robins (Lychnis flos-cuculi). I planted most of them in an enormous pot just outside my kitchen door, with the remainder going along the west side of my house. The following spring, I saw rosettes of leaves developing in the pot. "Hm," I said, "those must be Ragged Robins." They didn't bloom that first year, so in order to prevent myself from pulling them up as some sort of weed, I stuck a label in the pot. When the second spring came around, I was happy to see stems with buds rising above the rosettes, and sure enough, they bloomed. I let them go to seed in the hopes of having more, but as such things occasionally happen, the label faded or went missing, and at some point during the winter, I apparently decided to weed the pot. At first when no Ragged Robins came up in it, I blamed critters, but then a niggling memory suggested that I had indeed been my own worst enemy. I was very sad, very sad indeed, and moreso when Patty posted pictures of her Ragged Robins and asked me how mine were doing. But all was not lost! Remember I said that I'd thrown some seed down on the west side of my house? I even marked off the area as a "no-mow" zone. There are only a few, but I still have Ragged Robins.

This story puts me in mind of one from my childhood. My father was a diligent weeder, and decided to help my mother by pulling all the thistles out of her flower beds. Unfortunately, the "thistles" were in fact her Oriental poppies. I don't think she ever forgave him.

Lychnis Flos-cuculi, Ragged Robin

Day 212: Global Big Day may have been a bust (I only recorded 15 species), but at least I had a Ragged Robin. Thanks to one of my sisters-of-the-heart, I now have several growing in a large flower pot just outside the kitchen door. She sent me the seeds, but I rather suspect that the Juncoes found them to their liking since only a few rosettes developed. They did not form flowers last year, but this year, they are lush with buds. Lychnis flos-cuculi may also be called Silene flos-cuculi. Although it is an introduced species and has naturalized in the eastern US, it is not considered invasive, and is a popular addition to "wild" gardens. Pink or not, I'm happy to give Ragged Robin a home in my yard. As for the poor turnout for my Big Day, I'm blaming sunspots.