Silene hookeri

[Roma]

Many years ago when I grew Silene hookeri it was a pale salmon pink colour.  It was usually short lived but I did have one which lasted a few years.  It seemed to disappear from the seed lists for a long time.  I did get seed from the SRGC seed list in 2012.  I have 2 survivors.  They are much loved by slugs, aphids and red spider mites.  They are fairly straggly plants with bright magenta pink flowers.  I had long admired the beautiful white Silene hooker ssp. bolanderi shown by Cyril Lafong and was delighted when he gave me small seedling along with a seedling of a compact form of the magenta Silene hookeri.  I managed to kill both but did get seed of the magenta one.  I have a few seedlings which are beginning to flower now.
In October I also sowed seed from Alplains of Silene hookeri, Silene hookeri ssp bolanderi and Slene serpenticola.

Silene seedlings
Silene hookeri (Alplains)
Silene hookeri compact form (ex Cyril Lafong)
Silene hookeri ssp. bolanderi (Alplains)
Silene hookeri ssp. hookeri (SRGC 2012)
   

[Roma]

Another Silene coming into flower
The bright red Silene serpentinicola with Silene hookeri ssp bolanderi and Silene hookeri

[angie]

Wow Roma 

Angie 😀

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Well done Roma !!

[Roma]

Thanks Angie and Luc.  Flowering  in June after germinating in February was the easy bit.  The real test is how many (if any) survive to flower next year

[angie]

Thanks Angie and Luc.  Flowering  in June after germinating in February was the easy bit.  The real test is how many (if any) survive to flower next year

In your hands Roma every one 

Angie 

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Thanks Angie and Luc.  Flowering  in June after germinating in February was the easy bit.  The real test is how many (if any) survive to flower next year

Fingers crossed, Roma !

[P. Kohn]

We have been having similar problems getting hold of genuine Silene hookeri.  We have raised seeds under this name from a well known seed company which were definitely not Silene hookeri. The following year we tried seed from a seed exchange which proved to be the same incorrect plant.  We are pretty sure that both were Lychnis flos-jovis. One of the pictures matches what we obtained.

[P. Kohn]

Actually we have grown seed from two seed exchanges this year, The plants derived from the SRGC seed we are pretty sure are indstuinguishable from what we have grown as Lychnis flos-jovis and matches what we expect this species to be like.

We also had seed from AGS which are much more like what we had previously grown as Silene hookeri with much more dissected peatals than  Lychnis flos-jovis but the colour is a much more strident pink whereas we too remember a much paler and more subtle colour when we grew it before.

[Mark Griffiths]

I've had better luck recently with the AGS seed exchange - they tend to come up as the magenta form and like Roma I remember when they were always salmon pink. I had seed from the Archibalds and that was also salmon. I seem to remember back in the day the magenta ones were usually labelled ingrammi. I've also grown a compact form that came to me via the exchange as hookeri pulvinata

Biggest problem I had was repotting them - I lost them so now I leave them in the seed pots and they seem to come up fine every year. They also set seed and I've been sending that into the AGS while sowing a pod or two in case of losses.

I'd like to get the salmon form again and like to get bolanderi..maybe one day.