Description

Scabiosa caucasica ‘Perfecta Blue’

Scabiosa caucasica

I’m very excited about this one!

Perennial – Cold Hardy – Heat and Drought Tolerant – Perfect for pots -Dried Flower

Also available in Perfecta White.

One for our hot dry summers! 

Big packs of 50 seeds ! Literally just arrived and packed in July – impossible to get fresher than this

Huge, frilly lavender-blue flowers, commonly known as the Pincushion Flower, Scabious caucasica flowers are much larger than Scabious atropurpurea but not as tall, making them perfect for mixed borders and pots.

Once established plants are very cold hardy, heat and drought tolerant and almost maintenance free. Cut to the base in Autumn and they will return after Winter dormancy in Spring year after year.

A magnet for bees and butterflies. Plants will eventually need 60cm spacing making annuals plants ideal to fill in between the gaps while they get established in year 1.

How to grow:

Sow late Winter onwards as we do with the annual types. As they are a Perennial you can sow anytime until early summer.

Seeds germinate more slowly than the annual Scabious atropurpurea types, sow them in a separate tray so as not to delay the annual plants being taken out to the greenhouse.

Sow in cells or use a quarter size tray and prick them out once they are large enough to handle. This means you can start them earlier indoors without taking up much room and providing the ideal temperature of 18-20°c.

Seeds need light to germinate, sow them on the surface of damp compost and cover with a clear propagator lid to keep the compost moist. don’t over water, they dislike wet conditions.

Planting:

As a perennial it’s important to get the soil and situation right. Scabiosa caucasica thrives in full sun and requires well-drained soil.  It prefers neutral to alkaline conditions, highly drought-tolerant once established, however wet waterlogged soil in the Winter will cause the root stock to rot and plants perish.

If your soil conditions are not quite right you can simply grow them as a pot plant. Place in a sunny sheltered spot to stop any stems blowing over in the breeze.

Minimum support is required, however if you need super straight long stems for floristry, I find a bit of support at the base will keep all the flowers perfectly upright. It will be mostly hidden by the foliage if you put it in early.

Details:
Variety:  Scabiosa atropurpurea (annual cut flower Scabious)
Type: Hardy Perennial
Position: Full sun
Sow: Spring
Germination: Up to 30 days
Height: 60cm

Spread 60cm
Harvest: June/July onwards
Seeds per packet: 50

Cutting /Vase Life:

Excellent vase life of 7-10 days if picked as soon as the flowers start to open, straight into ready buckets of water. We rest our stems for a few hours in water, this is called conditioning. To enjoy these stunning flowers until the Autumn, deadhead regularly.

As the petals fall you will find they produce round beautiful seed pods. You can pick them green for using fresh in arrangements or wait for them to turn brown before cutting for drying.