How to Grow Red Campion: A Practical Guide from Seed to Flowers

Red Campion is a lovely wildflower for bringing a more natural feel to the garden. Its pink flowers are held above fresh green foliage and look particularly good along informal borders, beneath hedges and around the edges of more wooded areas.

One of the reasons I like Red Campion for wildlife planting is that it doesn't demand the sunniest part of the garden. While cornflowers and poppies really want an open sunny position, Red Campion is quite happy in partial shade.

It's generally a short-lived perennial, although it can also behave rather like a biennial. Once established, plants will often self-seed if you leave some flowers to mature, so you can end up with new plants appearing naturally around the garden.

It's straightforward to grow from seed, although it isn't as instant as some of the annual cornfield flowers. Give it time to establish and it can become one of those plants that largely looks after itself.

When to Sow

Red Campion can be sown in spring or autumn.

For spring sowing, March to May is a good time. You can sow into pots or trays or directly outside into prepared ground.

I also like sowing wildflowers such as Red Campion in late summer and autumn, from August to October. It fits naturally with the way the plant would drop seed itself and gives young plants a chance to establish before winter.

Don't worry if autumn-sown plants remain fairly small. They'll start growing strongly again when conditions improve in spring.

Red Campion isn't something I'd rush. You're establishing a plant that can flower over several seasons and hopefully seed itself around afterwards.

If you're starting from scratch, making both a spring and an autumn sowing is perfectly reasonable.

How to Sow

Red Campion seeds are small, so they don't need to be buried deeply.

For pots or trays, fill them with seed compost and gently firm the surface. Sow the seeds thinly and cover with a very light layer of fine compost or vermiculite.

Water carefully and keep the compost reasonably moist while the seeds germinate.

Once seedlings appear, give them plenty of light.

For direct sowing, remove weeds and rake the soil to create a reasonably fine surface. Scatter the seed thinly, lightly rake it in and gently firm the ground.

There's no need to deeply dig rich compost or fertiliser into the area first. Red Campion is a wildflower and will grow perfectly happily in ordinary garden soil.

Keep direct sowings watered during prolonged dry spells while the seedlings establish.

Growing Seedlings On

If you've started Red Campion in pots or trays, let the seedlings develop until they're large enough to handle.

Move crowded seedlings into individual pots or modules and keep them somewhere bright while they establish.

Don't overfeed them. You're looking for sturdy young plants rather than enormous amounts of soft leafy growth.

Once they're large enough, plant them into their final positions.

If you've sown directly outside, thin badly crowded seedlings to give the stronger plants room to develop.

I wouldn't worry about perfect spacing in a wildlife area. Red Campion looks much better when plants are allowed to appear naturally amongst other flowers rather than standing in carefully measured rows.

Keep weeds away while plants are small. Once established, they'll compete much more successfully for themselves.

Planting Out and Spacing

Red Campion will grow in sun or partial shade, although I particularly like it for those slightly shadier parts of the garden.

It's a good choice for woodland edges, beneath open hedges and informal borders where some of the sun-loving cornfield flowers aren't quite as happy.

It appreciates soil that holds a little moisture but still drains reasonably well.

Space plants roughly 25–30cm apart.

Water after planting and keep young plants watered while their roots establish.

Red Campion works particularly well planted amongst other wildflowers rather than on its own. Let it mingle with neighbouring plants and you'll get a much more natural-looking display.

Once settled in, there's really very little you need to do.

Watering and Feeding

Young plants appreciate regular water while they're getting established.

Established Red Campion is fairly tolerant, particularly when growing in some shade, although plants will appreciate a proper drink during prolonged dry periods.

If you're growing it beneath trees or hedges, remember that the soil there can actually become quite dry because larger roots are competing for moisture.

There's generally no need to feed Red Campion growing in the ground.

Rich soil and regular fertiliser aren't necessary and can encourage lots of leafy growth.

This is another wildflower where I tend to leave the feed on the shelf. If the plants are healthy and flowering, there's nothing that needs fixing.

Container-grown plants may need a little more attention to watering and feeding, but Red Campion is generally much happier being allowed to settle naturally into the garden.

Flowering and Wildlife

Red Campion usually flowers from late spring through summer, and established plants can have quite a long flowering period.

The pink flowers provide nectar for visiting insects, including bees and butterflies, and are particularly useful because the plant can flower in places where some of our more sun-loving wildlife plants won't grow as well.

The flowers are also visited by moths, adding another group of garden visitors to the mix.

This is why I like having a range of different plants in a wildlife garden. Cornflowers, poppies and Red Campion don't all do exactly the same job, and that's rather the point.

Different positions, flower shapes and flowering periods give wildlife more opportunities throughout the garden.

If you want plants to continue flowering, you can remove some faded blooms. But if you'd like Red Campion to establish itself naturally, leave plenty of flowers to produce seed.

Self-Seeding and What to Do After Flowering

Red Campion can self-seed very happily once established.

After flowering, seed capsules develop where the flowers were. Leave some of these on the plant until they mature and the seeds will naturally fall onto the surrounding ground.

You can also collect ripe seed and sow it somewhere else.

Don't be surprised if new seedlings appear a little way from the original plant. That's one of the pleasures of growing wildflowers — they don't always agree with our planting plans.

If seedlings appear somewhere inconvenient, they're easy enough to remove or move while they're still small.

Older plants can become tired after a few years, but if you've allowed them to self-seed there will often be younger plants ready to take their place.

I prefer that to trying to keep one individual plant going forever.

Common Problems

Slugs and Snails

Young Red Campion seedlings can be attractive to slugs and snails, particularly during damp weather.

Keep an eye on small plants until they're established. Larger plants are generally much better able to cope with a little damage.

Poor Germination

Germination can be slower or more uneven than some annual wildflowers.

Keep the compost or soil reasonably moist and give the seeds time. Autumn sowings may also sit quietly until conditions become suitable.

Plants Not Flowering

Young plants may concentrate on establishing themselves before producing lots of flowers.

Too much shade can also reduce flowering. Red Campion tolerates partial shade well, but very deep shade isn't ideal.

Plants Wilting in Dry Shade

A position beneath trees can look shady and cool while actually being surprisingly dry.

Check the soil during prolonged dry weather and water if necessary, particularly while plants are young.

Plants Spreading

Red Campion can self-seed freely when it's happy.

If you don't want it spreading too far, remove some faded flowers before the seed capsules mature. In a wildlife area, I tend to give it a little more freedom.

Older Plants Disappearing

Red Campion isn't necessarily a plant that will occupy exactly the same spot forever.

Individual plants can be relatively short-lived, but self-seeding keeps the population going. Leave some seed heads each year and let younger plants gradually replace the older ones.

Red Campion is a useful wildflower because it gives you something for those parts of the garden that aren't in full sun all day. Give it a little moisture, don't fuss over it too much and let some plants set seed. Once it gets comfortable, you'll often find it starts choosing its own places to grow — which suits a wildlife garden rather well.