Description

Stocks for ‘Pots’ (Pastels)

Matthiola incana

This is a special exclusive blend not available anywhere else!

They don’t need any staking, grow quickly. Pots of these would look lovely on tables at a wedding or event.

The same gloriously fragrant fluffy flowers but shorter in pastel shades of lilac, pink and white.

Flowering in early Summer they perfectly fill the gap between the end of the Spring flowers and the late summer wonders.

During my trials, I found them to stand up brilliantly to weather, from torrential downpours to tropical heatwaves.

How to grow:

Seeds germinate and grow incredibly quickly so we don’t sow our stocks until late winter/ early Spring, just as the light levels return.

Sow one seed per cell onto the surface of the compost, pushing seeds into the compost gently so they make good contact. Seeds also benefit  from a bit of warmth to trigger germination.

About half of the plants will be singles and half the plants will produce double blooms so grow twice as many as you need.

Plant out 20cm apart after the last frost and don’t pinch, they send up a single but magnificent flowering spike so you don’t want to chop that off!

For more detailed growing instructions join our ‘Grow-A-Long’  and for busy gardeners you can now plan ahead with our Handbooks.

Details:
Variety:  Matthiola incana
Type: Hardy Annual
Position: Full sun
Sow: Spring
Spacing: 15cm
Height: 20-30cm
Harvest: June – July
Seeds per packet: 100

Cutting /Vase Life:

Harvest when one-third to one-half of the flowers are open straight into to waiting buckets of cool water. We rest stems in water for at least a few hours, preferably overnight, this is called conditioning. Stocks are a very long lasting with a vase life of up to 10 days, depending of course on how long you enjoyed them in the garden first.