Sea wallflower (Malcolmia littorea), care of the sea wallflower

There are many plants that grow in sandy soil, but finding one that also produces pretty flowers is not always easy. But that with the Lictorian malcolmia is solved. We are not talking about a large species, but it can look very good on a rockery, for example, where it can be exposed to the sun throughout the day.

It grows fast, and it costs nothing to produce flowers every year. If you give it the necessary care, which is very basic as you will see below, you will have a beautiful plant almost effortlessly.

Origin and characteristics of Lictorian malcolmia

The Lictorian malcolmiaknown as sea wallflower, It is a woody plant at the base of low growth and perennial. native to the western Mediterranean. It is found in rocky or sandy areas, at a very low altitude above sea level. It grows to a maximum height of 40 centimeters, it usually does so by acquiring a rounded and fairly compact bearing, with stems covered by numerous short white hairs.

Produces flowers in springand are composed of four petals of a more or less intense pink or lilac color. These measure between 15 and 20 millimeters. The fruit is a silícua (similar to a legume, but longer and thinner, and with greenish skin) with a length of 30 to 65 millimeters.

What are the care it requires?

The sea wallflower is a plant that can beautify gardens near the sea, as well as those that have sandy soils. As we anticipated, it is not necessary to be very aware of it, since it is used to living in nutrient-poor soils. Therefore, it is very interesting to cultivate in those soils that have very little organic matter.

Tolerates salinity, but also direct sun. In fact, if it is not exposed to it, its growth will not be correct: its stems will be weak, almost without force, so they will twist and the plant will not look pretty. So let’s see what your care is like:

Location

How is a plant that it has to be in a sunny areawe will put it outside. In addition, it is advisable that we do not place any that are large near it, since it would take away light. In case we want to do it, we will place it behind, making sure that the sea wallflower receives a minimum of five hours of sun per day.

Pot or soil?

It will depend a lot on our tastes. The Lictorian malcolmia it has no invasive roots. It can be both in a medium-sized pot and in the garden. As a potted plant, it looks great in the center of a table, or embellishing the entrance to the house; If we choose to have it in the ground, it is interesting to plant it in combination with other plants of a similar size on both sides of the paths.

Earth

• Flower pot: You need a substrate that drains water very, very well. You have to think that the sand retains almost nothing of the liquid, but it keeps the roots well oxygenated since this is a gas that circulates easily through the sand grains. For this reason, we recommend mixing black peat with perlite in equal parts, or filling the pot with a universal substrate containing perlite (on sale here!).
• the garden: tolerates sandy soils. However, if yours is different and since the plant does not grow much, you have the option of making a hole of about 50 x 50 centimeters and filling it with the substrate that we have mentioned before. In this way, it can grow without you having to worry.

Irrigation

The Lictorian malcolmia is a plant that requires a lot of humidity. But you have to be careful with this, because it is not aquatic, and therefore you should not treat it as if it were. So when and how do you water it?

• Irrigation frequency: In general, it will be watered about three to five times a week during the summer. In those months, the high temperatures and droughts that tend to occur in many parts of the globe cause the moisture of the earth to lose rapidly, so it is important to be a little vigilant and to control the irrigation a little more than what we do in winter.
  The rest of the year we will water less, since the sea wallflower does not grow as much and, in addition, the land stays humid for a longer time.
• Type of irrigation: we recommend watering from above, that is, pouring the water on the ground and avoiding the leaves and flowers, if any.

Subscriber

In spring and summer it is highly recommended to pay once a monthespecially if it is potted. So we will add a little guano or manure so that it can grow well, healthily.

Transplant

If it is in a pot, we will plant it in a larger one every 3 years. This it is done in springsince if it were done in winter, for example, there would be the risk of causing damage.

Rusticity

It is a plant that resists even -7ºC.

Do you like sea wallflower?