Pink Statice

Pink Statice (Limonium sinuatum 'Roseum') is a compact perennial to about 60cm tall and 50cm wide, topped through the warmer months by winged stems of papery pink flowers that feel dry to the touch from the day they open. That texture is the point: statice is the classic everlasting, holding its shape and colour in a vase or dried arrangement for months. In the garden it takes salt wind, drought and poor sandy soil without complaint.

Why you'll love it

• Cut and come again. Every stem you take for the vase encourages more, and few flowers last longer once cut.
• Everlasting colour. The papery blooms dry perfectly, keeping their pink long after fresh flowers have gone over, so one border supplies arrangements all year.
• Thrives where soil is poor. Sandy, gravelly, dry or salt blasted: it is drought tolerant, coastal tolerant and genuinely happy in poor soil that starves showier perennials.
• Bees and butterflies. The long flowering run keeps pollinators working the garden for months.

Where it works best

Borders and edging. Plant 40cm apart for a full mass planting. At that spacing plants touch within a season and the front of the bed carries a continuous band of pink.

Coastal gardens and rockeries. Salt wind that burns most perennials leaves statice unbothered, and the sharp drainage of a rockery pocket suits it perfectly.

Pots. A wide terracotta pot in full sun keeps a cutting supply within arm's reach of the back door.

Growing Pink Statice in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun and moving air. It suits warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens and handles light frost only, so give it a warm spot in colder districts. In the humid subtropics and tropics it struggles through wet summers and is best treated there as a cool season annual.

Soil. Sharp drainage is the one non-negotiable. Sandy and gravelly soils are ideal, raised beds work on heavier ground, and wet clay is the single thing that reliably beats it.

Water and feed. Water weekly while it establishes, then let it largely fend for itself, with a deep drink in long dry spells. A light dressing of complete fertiliser in spring is all the feeding it wants.

Pruning. Cut flowering stems freely for the vase, remove spent stems at the base to keep new ones coming, and tidy the rosette in early spring.

What to expect when it arrives

Pink Statice is sold as tube stock: small, sturdy, well rooted plants that establish faster than potbound larger stock and usually reach flowering size in their first season. Tubes travel exceptionally well, arriving compact and ready to plant the day the box is opened.

Tube stock is the affordable way to plant a border in numbers, and it combines easily with other plants to reach the minimum order of $300 before delivery. Orders are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse companion colour in the flowering plants collection.
• Build a salt tough bed from plants for coastal areas.
• Steal ideas from our cottage garden design guide.

Common questions

How long does a plant live?

It is a short lived perennial. Expect a few strong years of flowering, then replace plants as they tire. In humid northern climates treat it as an annual planted in the cool season.

How do I dry the flowers?

Cut stems once the flowers are fully coloured, strip the lower leaves and hang small bunches upside down somewhere airy and shaded. They hold colour and shape for many months.

How far apart should I plant a border?

Plant 40cm apart. The rosettes touch within a season at that spacing and the planting reads as one continuous ribbon rather than a row of dots.

Will it handle frost?

Light frost only. In districts with regular hard frosts, plant in spring so it establishes through the warm months, and give it the warmest, best drained spot you have.