Plant of the Week: Royal Catchfly
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This plant of the week is fit for nobility. It's Royal catchfly! (Silene regia).
Growing roughly 4 feet tall, Royal catchfly has several small flowers with 5 scarlet petals. The nectar produced deep in the long tube-shaped flower is difficult for most pollinators to reach, but is perfect for their primary pollinator, the Ruby-throated hummingbird.
Native to tall grass prairies and grasslands, severe ecosystem fragmentation and destruction has resulted in the increasing rarity of this beautiful native flower.
Royal catchfly thrives in moderate to full sun and medium wet, well-draining soil. Its eye-catching scarlet flowers bloom from late June to August. Adding royal catchfly's beautiful red flowers and hummingbird guests to your garden not only adds aesthetic value but a home for this increasingly rare native prairie plant.
Written by Brandon Canaie
This content is free for use with credit to City of Madison Engineering.