Forum home› Plants
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Thrift armeria advice

IlikeplantsIlikeplants Posts: 894
edited May 2022 in Plants
I’ve got 3 thrift armeria ballerina. Can small clumps be divided easily to help it spread more? Should I plant them into a dry sunny border - I’m sure ants are under there churning up the dry soil because it keeps mounding up at the edges. I was thinking of putting a lavender and thrift together. Or is better in an alpine container? Or in a sunny but sheltered, area in the border of a tree?

I haven’t grown thrift before but was tempted for some reason. Any advice appreciated as I’ve already tried the search here.
«1

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I have it in the ground, in the gravel areas.  It seeds around if allowed, but you can divide it too. I'm on heavy clay, but the thrift is on the bits that were the lawn, so there's a bit of soil under the layer of gravel, and they're fine. That small layer of soil is essentially what they're rooted into. 
    If you have a lot of ants, it suggests the ground is very dry. It can be disruptive for any plant, even ones which like good drainage, so you'd need to ensure it was well watered.
    It can be grown in a container. Doesn't need any shelter - it's a coastal plant and grows everywhere in the UK no problem.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • IlikeplantsIlikeplants Posts: 894
    Thanks @Fairygirl - I might need to fix that little bed first before deciding what to do with it. It was made like a small raised bed, possibly for a water feature but I planted a small apple tree in there which is doing ok. The rest of the bed is a mishmash which needs clearing first before the lavender goes in there. I might then put the thrift with it to test as I’m trying to reduce my containers as I can’t keep on top of watering.

    The leaves on mine are wider, like Lilly leaves, than those sea ones I’ve seen pictures of. Interesting that it’s seeded into your lawn. I was hoping for drifts to develop.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It's not seeded into my lawn. I planted them - one is a division of the other-  and the whole area is gravelled now. I took all the grass away last spring to make a bigger pond. The thrifts are nearby  :)
    It's best to divide when the plants are big enough too, so if yours are small, it's worth waiting a little while longer. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • IlikeplantsIlikeplants Posts: 894
    I see ー I understand the appeal of not having a lawn sometimes :smile: love the idea of a pond, maybe one day but I think that needs commitment. I’ll see if I can divide the thrift into two as it’s very pot bound at the moment.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    edited May 2022
    I just got fed up with the grass @Ilikeplants. I'd only created the lawn about 7 years ago, and I'd created it with really good drainage, because of our weather, but the combination of  having an extension built, then needing a gable end re done, and a couple of drier summers in between, it was all needing re done. I took a section off the width, then decided, on a whim,  to do the whole thing. 
    I love grass, but I love the new plot more  :)

    Used to look like this


    Now it's like this- taken last autumn

    One of the thrifts is just at the foot of those rocks on the bottom right  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • IlikeplantsIlikeplants Posts: 894
    edited May 2022
    I really like what you’ve done @Fairygirl. It looks very naturalistic and so much brighter, reminds me of rock pools where you can explore for ages. If you want to sunbathe just bring out a lounger and it’s like being on the beach. The thrift looks like it’ll be happy there. I tried to devote a small section of my garden to gravel but it’s been taken over by the weedy oxalis. 
  • TheGreenManTheGreenMan Posts: 1,957
    I grow it right next to lavender. It’s at the bottom of the slightly sloping bed. Ants galore as it drains very quickly and is always dry. 


  • IlikeplantsIlikeplants Posts: 894
    Sounds like it might work for me then @TheGreenMan. I like your pink coloured ones - I have the red and white - the leaves are similar.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I don't do sunbathing - I barely do sitting when it's hot! I have to come inside. It's not for me at all.  :)
    It [the pond] is also to remind me of the hills when I can't get out there - a little lochan, the rocks, and the harebells [Scottish bluebells] over on the right behind those rocks.  :)
    The other clump of pink thrift is like yours @TheGreenMan - just starting to go over now, at the other end of the pond from that pic. 

    I have a white thrift as well, but it's tiny, and not so easy to cultivate. It's potted. Sweet little thing though.  
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • TheGreenManTheGreenMan Posts: 1,957
    Yeah I would think so @Ilikeplants 👍🏼

    I have white ones too @Fairygirl. Very happy amongst the fleabane and saxifraga. 
Sign In or Register to comment.