JACKSON VALENTINE FIRE PINK

JACKSON VALENTINE FIRE PINK Homeowner Growing & Maintenance Tips

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• Recommended Soil:
• Choose well-drained soil; Fire Pink 'Jackson Valentine' especially appreciates sandy, gravelly, rocky, or light loam conditions.
• Sharp drainage is important, particularly during periods of wet weather.
• Average garden soil is suitable as long as it does not remain consistently soggy.
• It can tolerate shallow, rocky, and somewhat challenging soils, making it useful for slopes and rock gardens.
• Sun Exposure:
• Full sun to part shade works well for Fire Pink 'Jackson Valentine'.
• Part sun or light afternoon shade can be especially helpful in hotter climates.
• Morning sun with afternoon protection suits this native woodland-edge perennial beautifully.
• Good light encourages the strongest flowering and helps showcase its vivid red blooms.
• Irrigation Needs:
• Provide regular moisture while newly established, allowing the soil to dry somewhat between waterings.
• Once established, this fire pink selection handles dry conditions and periods of drought quite well.
• Water deeply during prolonged heat or drought rather than relying on frequent, shallow irrigation.
• Avoid persistently saturated soil; excellent drainage is more important than keeping the root zone constantly moist.
• Feeding & Nutrients:
• Fire Pink 'Jackson Valentine' generally performs well without heavy feeding.
• A modest layer of compost can provide organic matter and gentle nutrition in poor soil.
• If soil is particularly lean, a light application of a balanced, slow-release perennial fertilizer in spring may be beneficial.
• Avoid excessive nitrogen, which can encourage foliage at the expense of the compact, floriferous habit.
• Pruning & Maintenance:
• Remove spent flower stalks after blooming if a tidier appearance is preferred or to limit unwanted self-seeding.
• Allow some mature seed heads to remain if you enjoy a more naturalized planting and want to encourage new seedlings.
• Because fire pink can have somewhat brittle stems, handle established plants gently when performing maintenance.
• Late fall or early spring cleanup can remove tired foliage and old stems before fresh growth begins.

Family: Caryophyllaceae · Common Name: Campion

FREE with every plant purchased:

• The Sooner Guarantee: For details, click here!
• A pre-measured amount of Polyon® Best-Paks time release fertilizer that keeps your plant well nourished for one year.
• Pre-hydrated Hydro-Gels are included in the top of each container to use when planting as they help retain soil moisture, and plants will establish more quickly with less transplant shock. Plants will also survive drought-like conditions and accidental missed waterings better.
• Planting and Care Instruction brochure.
• Catalogs of new and exciting plant brands, such as Garden Debut® and Proven Winners®.

We use and recommend www.dripdepot.com for our irrigation needs, from simple to install micro and drip systems, to commercial grade irrigation parts and supplies.

Interesting Notes About JACKSON VALENTINE FIRE PINK

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• Discovered on Salt Mountain: 'Jackson Valentine' was discovered growing on Salt Mountain near Jackson, Alabama, by Colleen Keleher. Her husband, nurseryman Maarten van der Giessen, helped share the remarkable selection with the gardening world.
• A Native With a Serious Upgrade: Ordinary fire pink can be a somewhat short-lived perennial, but 'Jackson Valentine' has demonstrated substantially better persistence and vigor. Long-term garden performance is one of the traits that helped make this selection so special.
• Hummingbird Red Alert: The intense coral-red flowers are a natural invitation to hummingbirds. Their vivid color makes 'Jackson Valentine' particularly useful in hummingbird gardens, native plantings, and wildlife-friendly landscapes where every bloom can become part of the show.
• Catchfly Has a Sticky Secret: The genus name Silene is associated with catchfly or campion, a reference to the sticky stems and floral structures found in various members of the genus. Those sticky surfaces can discourage some crawling insects from reaching the flowers—a clever little bit of botanical defense.
• From Alabama to the World: The original 'Jackson Valentine' was introduced commercially in 2015 after being recognized as a dramatic improvement over typical fire pink. A plant was later sent to the Netherlands for propagation, where an unexpected mutation eventually led to another cultivar, 'Forged by Fire'—giving this little native wildflower quite the international family tree.