Lychnis flos-cuculi 'Lychjen' JENNY

Ragged robin is our native Central European perennial. I remember that as kids we would pluck it when we made wildflower bouquets for our mums, because it beautifully brightened them up with its distinctive colour. JENNY is an English variety which originated as a cross between several unnamed ragged robin varieties was selected by Rainer Kretz in 1994 at the Blooms of Bressingham nursery in Blandford Forum, Dorset. It was granted a US plant patent No. PP14139 in 2003.

JENNY is a medium-tall perennial with narrow, short, lanceolate, semi-evergreen, deep green leaves that form a dense, low rosette. From their midst rise 60-70 cm tall, thin stems, topped with thin inflorescence composed of pastel pink, fully double flowers about 3 cm across.

Its typical flowering time is June and July, but if the weather is good it may begin to bloom already at the end of May, and if you cut off the stems with spent flowers when the plant gets unsightly, it will re-grow into a second, not very profuse flush in late summer or early autumn. The clumps are dense and slow to expand, but not weedy.

Rose campion is a typical meadow plant. There it seeks the sun, preferably neutral to slightly alkaline soil with enough moisture, it can even tolerate some flooding but does not require such conditions when cultivated in garden beds. It is not picky about soil pH but needs nutrients in the upper part of the soil profile as it has shallow root system. The clumps can easily be divided in early spring. After all frosts carefully remove old, withered leaves. Hardy to min. -30 °C (USDA zone 5), perhaps a bit more.

Last update 14-10-2023