Centranthus ruber Rosato - Red Valerian

The Centranthus ruber 'Rosato' is a selection of Garden Valerian that stands out from the classic species with its particularly abundant bright pink flowering. This perennial forms a beautiful clump and blooms profusely for months, even in very dry soil in summer. Its flowering, which resembles small clusters of lilacs from afar, attracts a multitude of butterflies. Almost foolproof, endowed with the untamed character of wild plants, it brings a lot of charm and life to rockeries and flower beds. It self-seeds freely, sometimes even in walls.

Native to Southern Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor, Garden Valerian has recently been classified in the honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae) rather than the valerian family (Valerianaceae). Unlike typical valerians, its tiny flowers have a long arched spur that serves as a nectar reserve for butterflies. It is a herbaceous perennial with a strong woody base anchored on rhizomes. It forms an upright and spreading bushy clump, reaching about 60-70 cm in height and 50 cm in diameter, depending on growing conditions (often taller in fertile soil). The clump consists of hollow, fleshy, and brittle stems covered with a powdery bloom. They bear small deciduous to semi-evergreen leaves in winter, depending on the climate. Thick and fleshy, the leaves are jade green to glaucous green in colour. Sheathing towards the top of the plant, they have petioles towards the base of the clump and are ovate to lanceolate. They do not exceed 2 to 4 cm in length and 1.2 cm in width. Flowering occurs, depending on the region, from May to September-October, sometimes almost year-round in very mild climates. In Mediterranean regions, it slows down in summer and resumes with the return of rain. In the 'Rosato' variety, the tiny flowers, in shades of fresh and vivid pink, are grouped in branched corymbs and are borne on the upper part of the stems, above the foliage. They are highly nectariferous. Note that this perennial plant will live longer in dry and poor soil. It self-seeds naturally in light soils.

The Centranthus ruber 'Rosato' is one of those almost fail-safe perennials that deserve a place in every garden, just like rose campions, gauras, and Erigeron karvinskianus. Highly floriferous and not demanding about soil type as long as it is well-drained, centranthus plants freely evolve in a garden, filling in empty spaces between perennials or shrubs. They even grow spontaneously in wall crevices. These perennials bring a lot of lightness to flower beds and are very useful for quickly filling a poor slope, a rockery, or a brand-new garden. They are excellent plants for dry or Mediterranean gardens, often lacking flowers in summer. Varieties with white, pink, mauve, or red flowers can be planted together to create beautiful colourful masses. They can also be paired with spurges for dry soil, centaureas, poppies, damask daisies, and many others.