Plant Database
Red Valerian
Centranthus ruber
Centranthus ruber is a beloved, long-blooming perennial prized for its profuse clusters of starry, pinkish-red flowers, exceptional drought tolerance, and ability to thrive in poor soils. This clump-forming subshrub features upright, slender, glaucous stems with opposite, lance-shaped, fleshy, blue-green leaves. From late spring through summer, it produces abundant, rounded terminal clusters (cymes) of small, star-shaped, fragrant, deep pink to reddish-purple flowers, creating a soft, billowing effect that is highly attractive to butterflies, bees, and other pollinators. With a strong, deep taproot that allows it to thrive in rocky, dry conditions and self-seed gently, it is an outstanding choice for cottage gardens, rock gardens, slopes (for erosion control), coastal plantings, cutting gardens, and naturalized areas. Once established, it is very drought-tolerant and difficult to remove due to its deep root system.