BLOOM FOCUS: Why We Love Silene 'Blushing Lanterns'

December 22, 2021

In 2019, the first year I planted Silene ‘Blushing Lanterns’ on my flower farm, I wasn’t impressed and planned to never grow it again (I even wrote about it in this blog post and may have discouraged some growers from planting it… oh what a world! Big apologies on that one).

That first year, the stems were short and mostly unusable. On my 1/2-acre plot I just didn’t have the space to waste on an unusable crop so I decided it needed to go. Rather than pull the plants out in the fall, I cut everything down at the base of the plants (this my typical way of winterizing the flower farm in order to keep root balls and soil organic matter in tact). Normally, the plant would die over the winter then in the spring I’d cover it up with a fresh layer of compost + alfalfa pellets and replant directly into all of that.

What I didn’t expect was for the Silene to wake up in the spring with vigor… which is exactly what happened!

I realize now this was a dumb observation. Had I investigated this plant more thoroughly, I would have known from the start that Silene ‘Blushing Lanterns’ is, in fact, a perennial to chilly Zone 4 and therefore, comes back every year without replanting. Perennials are my absolute jam.

So if you do grow Silene ‘Blushing Lanterns’ as a cut filler flower, be aware that the first year the stems might be short and lame. In subsequent years, the stems will mature on the earlier side (early to mid-June for me in Zone 6b) and will be of usable length.

Bridal Bouquet from October 2021 // Photo by Renee LeMaire Photography

WHY WE LOVE SILENE ‘BLUSHING LANTERNS’

It’s a perennial!
This filler flower is incredibly unique and adds the most beautiful, dainty movement to bridal bouquets. Like Floret says, it really is an absolute must-grow for wedding work.
After an initial round of harvesting, the entire plant can be cut down to initiate another flowering cycle for harvest later in the season.

TIPS FOR GROWING & HARVESTING SILENE ‘BLUSHING LANTERNS’

I grow a small patch — about 4’x4’ — and that is more than enough for me to use for my own wedding floral work, but it’s not enough to sell to other florists.
I’m not sure that I would sell this to other florists; it’s not currently on my wholesale list. The stems break easily (there are fragile nodes at several points on each stem that tend to snap if pulled too hard, say, when you’re creating bouquets). In my mind, I would need to supply extra stems to ensure the florist has what they need, and quite frankly, that is extra work. Harvesting Silene BL takes a long time as the small blossoms become quite tangled in the growing patch.
When I harvest for myself, I harvest more than I need to make up for future broken stems. Despite the stems easily breaking, Silene BL is still entirely worth growing because it is so incredibly beautiful bouncing on top of bouquets!
I grow in Sandy Loam with a ton of composted cow manure that has been layered on top. Silene likes this rich soil and it seems to be drought tolerant.