Echinops (Globe Thistle)
Echinops Star Frost
Echinops Ritro
Echinops Ritro
Scientific Name :
Echinops
Common Name :
Globe Thistle
Blooming Season :
Summer August-September
Plant Habit :
Upright
Water :
Medium
Position :
Sun
Height :
24-48 inches
Growing Echinops
The spiky leaves and bristly metallic blue flowers of this plant make it a great architectural plant for the back of a summer border.
The spiny, cobwebbed leaves provide interest from spring until the blooms appear in late summer. It associates well with other
tall striking late summer plants such as cardoon and echinacea or tall miscanthus grasses in an island bed. It has been given an
Award of Garden Merit (AGM), which is for plants of outstanding excellence
When not looking lovely in the garden, they look quite something in a vase, both in flower and afterwards, when you are left with
a washed blue seedhead. They last a long time, too, particularly if you change the water often.
Echinops is tolerant of quite a wide range of soils, provided the top layer around the base of the plant drains well. I have seen it
thrive on getting its feet deep into clay and do equally well in the thinnest of soils. My favourite thing after those lovely blue balls
is that the slugs do little damage.
Echinops will even grow in poor soils and gravel gardens and will perform best in full or partial sun.
The plant can attract blackfly but I haven’t found even heavy infestations damaging the performance of the plant.
Spikes of Echinops will last several days in a vase so make a great cut flower. The blue may fade over the course of a few days
to e silvery tone
Alcea (Hollyhock)
Achillea
Agapanthus
Agastache
Aquilegia
Astrantia
Buddliea
Buddliea Altternifolia
Butterfly Weed
Catananche caerulea
Canna Lily
Carnation
Delphinium
Echinacea
Echinops
Eryngium
Alton
Aresford
Burley
Ellingham & Ringwood
Emsworth
Hamble
Petersfield
Ringwood
Southsea
Southampton Bedford Place
Winchester High Street
