Statice, Sea Lavender

Statice is prized by florists as a filler in many flower arrangements. Of the family Plumbaginaceae, two of the most popular species used by the cut flower industry are Limonium latifolium (which bears panicles of spikelets that that consist of shortly tubular, deep lavender blue flowers 1/4" long with white calyces) and L. sinuatum, pictured below (often grown as an annual which bears panicles of clustered spikelets that consist of tiny, funnel-shaped pink, white, or blue flowers 3/8 -- 1/2" long, enclosed in hairy white or pale violet calyces).

Plant Facts:

Common Name:   Sea lavender, Statice

Botanical Name:   Limonium

Family:  Plumbaginaceae

Plant Type:  Annual, biennial, and deciduous and evergreen perennial and sub-shrub

Origin: Found from coasts, salt marshes, and deserts worldwide.

Zones: 3 - 10

Height:  2' to 4'

Rate of Growth: Moderate

Salt Tolerance: High

Soil Requirements:  Well-drained, sandy soil

Water Requirements: High drought tolerance

Nutritional Requirements: Balanced low nitrogen fertilizer monthly

Light Requirements: Full sun

Form:  Sub-shrub

Leaves:  Elliptic to spoon-shaped, sometimes hairy, mid- to dark-green.

Flowers: Often papery, used cut or dried, colors of L. sinuatum Fortress Series come in various shades of red, white, blue, yellow or pink.

Fruits:

Pests or diseases:  Rust, leaf and flower spots, gray mold, Southern blight, crown rot

Uses:  Cut flowers, can be used in beds, borders, mass plantings

Bad Habits: 

Cost:  $$ -- Very reasonable

Propagation:  Annuals by seed, perennials by division

Sources:  PERENNIALS FOR AMERICAN GARDENS, AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY A-Z ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GARDEN PLANTS