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Sculpit
Silene vulgaris
Also known as stridolo, bladder campion, maidenstears, silene inflata
In stock
Description
Sculpit is a perennial herb ready to offer tasty food and delicate beauty to gardens and food forests. What I’ve learned to appreciate about sculpit is that despite her delicate flowers and leaves, with their delicate flavor, sculpit is strong in the garden and holds her own.
Also known as maidenstears, sculpit’s flowers are tear shaped who open up into little fairy lanterns. Look close at the little bells and you’ll notice the somewhat faint contrast of veins running across the surface, giving a beautiful visual texture to the already delightful blossoms. If I was a small pollinator, I couldn’t imagine a more whimsical, but beautiful flower to visit.
When the fairy flowers are spent, their husk remains, covering a similar shaped light brown pod in the shape of an inverted tear. A number of small light grey seeds are enclosed in the pods, and wait to be released at the right time. The pods themselves are a beautiful decoration and add a bit of whimsy to a summer or fall bouquet.
Sculpit starts its new growth fairly early in the year and established overwintering plants crank out new leaves in late winter and early spring when the temperatures are still quite chilly. As such, sculpit is a rare early green to include in your late winter/early spring meals.
Sculpit leaves have a very mild, somewhat spinach like flavor and can be eaten raw or cooked. Italians love to cook sculpit in risotto, pasta, pizza. They are also delicious in soups, eggs, in saag, or by themselves. You can use sculpit leaves as a spinach replacement in any recipe.
In the cooler weather sculpit leaves are mild and sweet, but in the summer the leaves get a bit more bitter and some say they have a mild peppery taste.
The plant contains saponins and its advised to cook the leaves when eating more than a small amount. Indeed sculpit roots can be used as a soap and can create a lather.
While sculpit is a perennial, some folks prefer to grow sculpit as an annual. Sure enough, unlike many other perennials, sculpit will make flowers in its first year. When grown as an annual, plant sculpit more closely since it won’t get nearly as big.
As a perennial, I love growing sculpit on the edge of pathways because its not too big and it actually holds its own against weeds and even grass. I was surprised to see such a dainty plant hold its boundaries so strongly! Now I am encouraging sculpit to grow in and along other pathways, as well as in pockets between other perennials that won’t shade or cover the low growing sculpit.
I am transitioning to wild tending our sculpit plants, allowing them to reseed freely and broadcasting sculpit seed where we want to enjoy more low growing, delicate beauty in our gardens.
I am so excited to share sculpit seed with you so that you can enjoy sculpit in your garden and home!
Details
Lifecycle: Perennial (Can be grown as annual)
Lifespan: 3-5+ years
Hardiness zones: 7-10 (USDA)
Habitats: Fields, roadsides, slopes in Europe
Plant size: 2 ft wide x 2 ft tall
Light: Full sun to part shade
Soil: All soil types
Water: Moist soil preferred, some drought tolerance
Seeds per packet: 100+ seeds
Seed Starting
Just barely cover the small seeds with soil in the early spring, tamp lightly and don’t allow seeds to dry out until they germinate. Plant them in their permanent spots in the summer, or if growing as a perennial potting up to plant in the fall or following spring is an option.
Cultivation
Sculpit is low growing and upright growth sprawls over after flowering. It tends to spread out somewhat flat and then build on its own thin but woody scaffolding the following year.
Sculpit needs some weeding early on, but holds its own space and shades out the soil and prevents most weed seeds from establishing beneath it once it is established.
Prune back in the fall or winter as desired for new growth the following spring, or allow sculpit to spread out and create a mat.
Once established sculpit has a level of drought tolerance and handles our hot weathers and thin soils very well, despite imperfect conditions.
Harvest
Harvest leaves with scissors or a sharp knife in the late winter, early spring for overwintered perennials. For first year plants grown as annuals, harvest leaves anytime of the year. Leaves will regrow and you can continue harvesting up until flowering time. In our hot climate the plants who flower take a break from making new leaves during summer and restart again the following late winter and spring.
Propagation
Established plants can be divided in the fall, winter or spring. Layering and cuttings are also possible.
Seed Saving
After the flowers fade, harvest the dried seed heads which are enclosed little pods. Thresh by crushing the pods, then screen the seeds from larger debris and winnow if cleaner seeds are desired.
Additional information
Weight | 0.007 lbs |
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Dimensions | 4.5 × 3.25 × .05 in |
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