Paronychia capitata
Paronychia capitata
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Requires a sunny position succeeding in hot dry soils and tolerating drought once established[1]. Requires a warm open position in full sun, in a sharply drained sandy or gritty soil. If the soil is too rich the plants leaves will not be so silvery[2]. Plants can be grown in a wall[2]. This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c, perhaps more if in a perfectly drained soil[2]. This report is a little confusing since the same article says that the plant succeeds in climatic zone 5 and should therefore be hardy in almost all of Britain[PFAF]. This species is closely related to P. argentea but is less tolerant of winter cold and wet conditions[2].
Propagation
Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division in spring[2]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Paronychia+capitata>
Pollinators
Insects
References
- [1]The Dry Garden. — Chatto. B. · Dent · 1982 · ISBN 0460045512 ↩︎A good list of drought resistant plants with details on how to grow them.
- [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
- [3]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
- [4]Plants for Ground Cover — Thomas. G. S. · J. M. Dent & Sons · 1990 · ISBN 0-460-12609-1 ↩︎An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.
- [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎