Guide to growing garden plants - Claytonia (Mayflower)
Claytonia are small hardy perennials (sometimes annuals) that have succulent leaves.
They flower in early spring with pink or white petals. Other names for Clarkia include grass flower, Spring beauty and Mayflower.
Due to its small size of about 7 to 13cm it makes an ideal plant for rockeries.
How to grow Mayflower - Claytonia
If growing Claytonia from seed it is best to do so outdoors. The seed should be sown at a depth of 3mm in flats from fresh seed in the summer. The flats should have moist soil and be in a shaded area, and covered with glass. They take about 3 weeks to germinate. Seedlings of Mayflower (Claytonia species) should then be planted with a spacing of 10cm in a shaded area of the garden that has rich, gritty and moist soil of pH 5 to 7.
Caring for Claytonia
It is important to keep the soil moist when growing Claytonia to prevent the plant dying. As seeds are difficult to get, if you require more mayflower / Claytonia plants then you should divide the plant very very carefully in the autumn.