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Centranthus ruber 'Albus' (White Valerian) - A very versatile perennial with bluish-green foliage that grows to 3 feet tall by as wide. Rounded spikes of white flowers are borne from late spring to early summer.
Can grow in many different garden conditions: sun to shade, little to occasional water, and poor to loamy soil. Good on banks, in wall crevices and the fringe of the garden. Can be somewhat invasive if not monitored. Remove spent flowers to promote extended bloom and avoid proliferation of young seedlings. Some people love its ability to regenerate and spread - others hate it. Hardy to about 15-20 degrees F.
Native to mediterranean climate regions of norther Africa in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia and in southern Europe from Portugal, Spain and France east to Italy, the former Yugoslavian states, Albania, Greece and European Turkey. The name for the genus comes from the Greek words 'kentron' meaning "a spur" and 'anthos' meaning "a flower" in reference to the spurred flowers. The specific epithet is a reference to the red flowers that the species has, but there are forms such as this one with white flowers and ones with more lilac colore flowers as well.
The current name for this plant is Valeriana rubra, which was the name originally given to the plant by Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum 1753 but it was reclassified in 1805 to Centranthus ruber. It recently has been returned to the original name but has been called Centranthus for so long that we retain this name in our database. We grew this white flowered form from 1985 until 2007 and also long grew the typical red flower form that we listed as Centranthus ruber.
Information displayed on this page about Centranthus ruber 'Albus' is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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