Statice scientifically called Limonium is a genus of 120 flower species, The leaves are simple, entire to lobed, and from 1–30 cm long and 0.5-10 cm broad; most of the leaves are produced in a dense basal rosette, with the flowering stems bearing only small brown scale-leaves (bracts).
The flowers are produced on a branched panicle or corymb, the individual flowers are small(4–10 mm long) with a five-lobed calyx and corolla, and five stamens; the flower colour is pink or violet to purple in most species, white or yellow in a few.
If you are a fan of indoor cut flowers and dried arrangements, you may find that growing statice in outdoor beds provides you with an ample supply of this popular filler plant.
Start seeds of statice flowers indoors, eight to 10 weeks before the last frost date. Statice plant care may involve a hardening off period in cold temperatures when plants are three to eight weeks old, providing a more productive plant with earlier blooms.
Blooms develop in mid to late summer. The history of the statice flower indicates the bluish purple color has long been the most popular when using statice as cut flowers.
However, cultivars of statice are now found in whites, yellows, pinks, violet and orange colors.
Statice plants perform best with a bit of benign neglect. They like lean, poor soils on the dry side. Too much water or fertilizer causes the plants to flop or succumb to fungal infections.
As the blooming stalks of your statice plants grow throughout the season, they may droop onto the ground. You can support the plants with a grow-through ring stake, or by planting them densely so that they support one another.
Along with roses and lilies, statice plants are an essential element of the cutting garden. Statice flowers are very desirable as filler plants for bouquets, because they are delicate-looking yet long lasting in the vase.
Statice flowers are one of the few flowers that look almost as beautiful dry as they do fresh, making them a craft favorite
