Statice Flowers
The center blooms of the statice flower are white, and this white center bloom remains long after the calyces or outer blooms have withered away. The brilliantly colored calyces of statice flowers make them stand out and demand attention. Statice flowers are available in a number of vivid colors. Bright purple statice flowers are the most common, but statice flowers are also available in beautiful shades of pink, white, salmon, blue, red, and yellow.
The leaves of statice flowers are small and unassuming, and the stems are like the wings of a graceful butterfly. Statice flowers are very frilly, and look like they’re made of high-quality paper. Statice flowers reach a maximum height of approximately sixteen inches, and they are a perfect choice if you want annual flowers that will make a dramatic statement in your yard or garden.
Locations for Statice Flowers
Statice flowers are wonderful annual flowers for locations that receive full sun. Even apartment dwellers and those with limited yard space can enjoy the beauty of statice flowers. If you don’t have ground space for statice flowers, consider planting this tender annual in half whiskey barrels or decorative flower pots or containers of adequate size.
Statice flowers also make a lovely backdrop for lower growing annual or perennial flowers. Consider planting flowers such as wonderfully fragrant lily-of-the-valley or colorful violas in front of a mass of statice flowers. Statice flowers also make an attractive border for a garden or yard.
Planting and Growing Statice Flowers
Although statice flowers grow well in most types of soil, statice flowers do require well-drained soil in order to survive and thrive. To improve the soil before planting statice flowers, blend in an adequate amount of compost or other organic material. Organic matter blended with soil will act like a sponge and pull excess water away from tender roots.
If you live in a cooler climate, sew statice seeds or plant bedding plants directly in the ground in the spring after all chance of frost has passed. In warmer hardiness zones, statice flowers can be planted in the later weeks of winter. Place bedding plants approximately sixteen inches apart, and if planting statice flowers by seed, thin the seedlings when they are about two inches tall and easy to grasp.
Water statice flowers regularly when establishing new plants. After your statice flowers are mature and well established, allow the soil to become dry between subsequent applications of water. Remember, statice flowers can’t tolerate excessive amounts of water, so try not to over water them.
Statice flowers don’t need fertilizer in order to thrive and produce beautiful blooms, but if you want to give your statice flowers a boost, they can be given water-soluble plant food after they have matured. Follow product label instruction carefully to achieve the best results.
Uses for Statice Flowers
Although statice flowers are annual flowers that die away at the end of the growing season, statice flowers can be kept long after other flowers have faded away. Statice flowers are fantastic dried flowers, and it’s for this reason that statice flowers are used by florists and those who create flower arrangements. Statice flowers retain their vivid colors and beauty throughout the drying process, and if statice flowers are dried properly they will remain beautiful for many years.
If you’d like to try drying statice flowers, select choice flowers right before they fully open, and hang them upside down in a dark dry location that receives plenty of air circulation. Hanging them upside down in a dark area will help statice flowers retain much of their vivid color. After your statice flowers are fully dry, you’ll be able to enjoy their color and beauty for many years to come.
