Illustration
Sea Thrift
Armeria maritima
Also comes in white, red and purple.
Sea Thrift blooms from April through June.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Sea Thrift
Plant it in full sun. It prefers low water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–8. Expect it to reach about 8 in tall and 12 in wide at maturity, in roughly 2 years (a house reading).
Pets
- No toxic listing found for dogs and cats in the sources we check.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Sea Thrift. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Sea Thrift
Plant Sea Thrift in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 8, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from April to June.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Sea Thrift get?
8 intall5 ft 7 inan adult12 inwideSee Sea Thrift in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Sea Thrift
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Sea Thrift about 12 in apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Sea Thrift to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Sea Thrift's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags were checked against 7 published sources on October 20, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- NC State Extensionheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- University of Wisconsin HorticultureUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Extensionheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Cornell Cooperative ExtensionCornell Universityheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, bloom months and color and trait tags
- extension.oregonstate.eduOregon State University Extensionheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and bloom months and color
- urbantreefarm.comUrban Tree Farm Nurseryheight, spread, sun, water and bloom months and color
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight, sun, bloom months and color and trait tags
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
Native to 5 states and 9 provinces
United States: Alaska, California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington
Canada: British Columbia, Labrador, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Yukon
Recorded growing wild in 44 counties.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
1 more variety in the Thrift group
Same genus, similar care - pick the one you are growing.
Across the group, bloom runs from April through October: Sea Thrift opens first (April) and Armeria Dreameria Daydream is the last to finish (October).
Compare every variety in the Thrift group
Every figure is the variety's own page fact. Tap a name to open it.
| Variety | Color | Blooms | Hardiness | Sun | Size (H × W) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armeria Dreameria Daydream | Pink | May–Oct | Zones 6–9 | Full sun | 12 in × 12 in |
| Seathis page | Pink | Apr–Jun | Zones 4–8 | Full sun | 8 in × 12 in |
Good to know about Sea Thrift
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note. A note reports what its source says; where that differs from a fact above, the fact above is this entry's stored value, and its mark says whether it has been checked.
Worth knowing
It carries salt glands on both leaf surfaces that actively push out sodium, chloride, even metals like copper and zinc, letting it thrive on salted, contaminated ground. per International Journal of Molecular Sciences and Plants (Basel)
Native status depends on region
It is genuinely native to the Pacific coast, the far north, and Europe, but not to the eastern US, where garden stock is usually European. Region decides. per NC State and Jersey-Friendly Yards
Sharp drainage is everything
Siting, watering, and disease reduce to one rule: give it lean, sharp-draining soil. Rich, heavy, or wet ground rots the clump's center; gritty ground lets it thrive for years. per NC State and Wisconsin
Divide in spring to renew
Deadheading keeps it blooming, but it will not fix a dying center. When the middle goes, lift and divide the clump in spring to rejuvenate it. per NC State and Wisconsin
Early-season pollinator forage
The nectar-rich, round flower heads draw bees and butterflies, with bumblebees the main pollinators. Blooming in spring, it is a useful early-season forage plant. per NC State and International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Made for tough, salty spots
It shines where salt, wind, and poor soil beat other plants: rock gardens, troughs, gravel and xeriscape beds, coastal borders, and salted roadside hellstrips. Best massed or as edging. per Wisconsin and Jersey-Friendly Yards
What pairs well with Sea Thrift
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
Russian Sage
Shares full sun and low water; blooms in midsummer as this one finishes; taller at 4 ft, for the layer behind it; both offer pollinator forage, in different months.
Garden Phlox
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; blooms in midsummer as this one finishes; taller at 3.5 ft, for the layer behind it; both offer pollinator forage, in different months.
Cosmos
Shares full sun and low water; overlaps, then carries the display into mid fall; taller at 3.5 ft, for the layer behind it; both offer pollinator forage.
Love-Lies-Bleeding
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; blooms in midsummer as this one finishes; taller at 3.5 ft, for the layer behind it; both offer pollinator forage, in different months.
Anise Hyssop
Shares full sun and low water; blooms in midsummer as this one finishes; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; taller at 3 ft, for the layer behind it.
Butterfly Bush
Shares full sun and low water; overlaps, then carries the display into early fall; stands well above at 6.5 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; both offer pollinator forage.
Smokebush
Shares full sun and low water; overlaps, then carries the display into midsummer; stands well above at 10 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; echoes the pink.
Cleome
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; overlaps, then carries the display into early fall; taller at 4 ft, for the layer behind it; both offer pollinator forage.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.