Growing Guide
 
plant thumbnail

Sea Lavender

Herbaceous Perennial Flower

Also known as Statice, Statice Plumbago
Limonium latifolium
Plumbaginaceae Family
Synonym: Statice latifolia

Tolerant of droughty soil, this sun-loving perennial delivers dense clouds of blue to pink-purple flowers rising above dark green basal rosettes. Delicate and airy in the garden and as a dried flower.

arrow
arrow
arrow
Site Characteristics
Sunlight:
  • full sun
Shade from hot afternoon sun in very hot climates.

Soil conditions:

  • tolerates droughty soil
  • requires well-drained soil
Also tolerates salt.

Hardiness zones:

  • 3 to 9
May be only marginally hardy in Zone 3.
Plant Traits

Lifecycle: perennial

Ease-of-care: easy

Height: 1.5 to 2.5 feet

Spread: 1 to 1.5 feet

Bloom time:

  • mid-summer
  • late summer

Flower color:

  • blue
  • violet
  • pink

Foliage color: dark green

Foliage texture: medium

Shape: cushion, mound or clump

Leaves form a basal rosette.

Shape in flower: flower stalks with upright spikes

Tiny flowers borne in masses on tough, wiry stems that rise above the foliage.

Special Considerations
Tolerates:
  • salt
Special characteristics:
  • deer resistant
  • non-aggressive
  • non-invasive
  • not native to North America - Native to Europe.
  • evergreen - Semi-evergreen to evergreen.
Special uses:
  • cut flowers
  • dried flowers - Cut when flowers are fully open, and hang in a warm, dry location to dry.
Growing Information
How to plant:

Propagate by seed, division or separation - Sow seeds in the spring, barely covering them. Plants take 3 to 4 years to establish.

Make root cuttings in early spring.

Difficult to divide. Divide in very early spring. Use care, as the roots are long and easily damaged.

Maintenance and care:
Provide space between plants for adequate air circulation to reduce diseases.

Usually does not need staking.

Deadhead to prolong bloom. Leave the attractive stems and flower heads for fall and winter interest, and cut back in spring.

Plants don't need dividing. Leave clumps undisturbed except to propagate.

More growing information: How to Grow Perennials

Pests:
Usually not a problem.
Diseases:
Rust
Leaf and flower spots
Gray mold
Crown and root rots
Varieties
�Blue Cloud� has pale blue blooms.

�Violetta� grows 1 to 1.5 feet tall with deep purple-pink blooms.

�Collier�s Pink� has pink blooms.

�Robert Butler� has blue-purple blooms.