PERENNIALS > SCABIOSA
IN THIS GUIDE
SCABIOSA GUIDES
DeadheadingGrowing From SeedVarieties
fat in colour , profuse in blooms , humble in maintenance , and charming in appearance – that ’s the Scabiosa plant for you .
As for said charming show , it is the result of the structure of the heyday ’s receptacle , floweret , and stamens , which make it resemble apincushion !
What do you call a flowering plant whose blooms have such different and varying forms , shapes , and petal arrangements that you would need over a grade of description for them ?
you may call it Scabiosa . Or , to add to the confusion : Scabious , Knautia , and Pincushion Flower !
add even further dimension to the plant is the diverse array of color the flowers issue forth in , ranging from clean to near - black , and in tones pastel through vivid to saturated .
Overview
PreferredFull Sun
ExposureExposed or shelter
Height0.1 – 0.5 one thousand
Spread0.1 – 0.5 M
Bloom TimeJuly – September
PreferredChalk , loam , George Sand
MoistureWell drained
pHAny
Scabiosa metal money come in both one-year and perennial type , with even a few biennials wedge in between .
As such , there ’s a Scabiosa variety to suit every tasting and every garden , from among its 68 species ( which are typically under - counted ) and about 240 hybrids and cultivar ( not counting synonyms).1Scabiosa . ( n.d . ) . Kew Royal Botanic Gardens . remember March 24 , 2023 , fromhttps://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:14326-1
Its mintage are aboriginal throughout the Temperate and Sub - Tropical zone of Europe , Asia , and Africa.3Scabiosa . ( n.d.-b ) . Plants for a Future . Retrieved March 24 , 2023 , fromhttps://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Scabiosa+columbaria
They do not develop in Tropical zones except for a few country in Central Africa but some species , for example Centaurea scabiosasubsp . scabiosa , grow in even the Polar and Sub - arctic zones of Northern Russia , including Siberia .
The backbreaking concentration of Scabiosa varieties is retrieve in Mediterranean nation .
Naming Confusion
As for the various names for this plant life , they are not exactly synonymous .
There is some convergence , discrepancy , and – that parole again – confusedness as to which name applies to which works or which genus .
Scabious used to be the coarse name for a exercise set of slackly - identified flowering plants , and was – and still is – used interchangeably with the right genus name , Scabiosa .
However , the common and non - technical name ‘ Scabious ’ in reality identifies a subset of plants from Genus Scabiosa , and a subset of plant from related Genus Knautia .
And what about ‘ Pincushion Flower ’ ? Pincushion is a strictly visually descriptive name that distinguish many varieties of both Scabiosa and Knautia .
The ground is that several sort have a rounded , clearly bulging , receptacle from which legion and outstanding stamens protrude , bring to mind a pincushion .
One can only desire that this little exposition reduces the confusion and certainly does not add to it !
Where there can not be any mix-up is in what these easy - going plants would bring to your garden : playfulness , butterfly , that little bit of ‘ something unlike ’ and a riotous medley of colour all through summertime and even into other autumn .
Hardiness
The big diversity in Scabiosa species ’ habitat imply , quite course , that they are accommodate to dissimilar climate zones .
Columbaria varieties usually are dauntless from USDA zones 3 to 8 ( RHS H5 - H7 ) and Atropurpurea varieties from 4 to 11 ( RHS H1C - H7 ) .
Caucasica varieties are native to a very wide range and this is reflect in their hardiness zones from 2 through 9 ( RHS H3 - H7 ) .
How To Grow Scabiosa
In general , you’re able to lease Scabiosa ‘ operate free ’ in your garden with other wild flower for an Alpine Meadow effect .
Then can be grow dumbly in beds or in ‘ single data file ’ for colourful edging of walkway .
“ There are species with smaller prime and cultivars with large flowers , tall and brusque mintage and cultivars , ” share Horticultural Consultant Colin Skelly .
“ This means that Scabiosa can be used in many way and across many styles in the garden . I choose to utilize them in hayfield - style planting where their easy flowered habit lend itself to the aesthetic . ”
They are also wonderful comrade plants to arrange off other plants and flower that would be focal points .
However , the varieties are sufficiently different to call for very different treatments .
For instance , S. graminifoliawould be pefect for a rear patch of your garden or lawn , whereasS. caucasica‘Fama White ’ could be used as clumping comrade plants to set off a focal point , be it a rose bush or uranologist , andS. atropurpurea‘Fire King ’ could be given a small flower bed of its own or grown in pots on a balcony .
No matter where you plant Scabiosa , they should be locate in very well - drained ground and get full Dominicus .
All Scabiosa species should be grown in early to mid - spring though the perennial can be started in other fall too .
As annuals , S. atropurpureaare develop by semen . S. columbariavarieties are usually propagated from basal press cutting and by plant section .
S. caucasicavarieties are grown by seminal fluid as well as from basal cutting off besides which they are also propagated by division .
Pincushion Plant Care
As extraordinarily lowly - maintenance plant , you do not really involve to care , as such , for them .
All you ask to do to keep them felicitous is safeguard against some no - No .
First , they have a unassailable preference for full Sunday .
humidness and moistness play a large part in how well Scabiosa thrive – they do not prefer very crocked or humid climate .
temperate or low rainfall and dry weather courtship these plants very well .
In general you ca n’t go improper with chalky , loamy soils that have a neutral pH tending to alkaline . Soil must be well drained .
Scabiosa like rich ground but can not tolerate profound soils or clay grunge .
ground that retain moistness will cause the plant to commence rotting – these plants are averse to shade and high humidity .
Pruning
As with virtually everything to do with this carefree plant , pruning is a simple thing .
Withered blooms should be deadheaded ; this will keep the flowers come .
If a perennial variety has become to a fault bushy or lop - sided , you may rationalize it by cutting direct above a special number of leafage still hunt .
Such specie may also be turn off back in the autumn .
Common Problems
These remarkable works are among the most disease - free and pesterer - resistant .
This is another , and very crucial , intellect that they are so grim - maintenance .
Only some species may succumb on function to powdery mould .
