Echinops ritro

Echinops ritro adds a bold and unique touch to the garden with golf ball-sized globes of blue flowers that appear in late summer. The silvery-white stems are stiff and won't flop, if given full sun. The silvery foliage has wooly undersides, is deeply cut, and offsets the flowers nicely. Not a true thistle, and despite its spikey appearance, the plant is softer than it looks and not a problem to handle. Use this one to add exotic texture and fun color to the summer garden.

Uses: Borders, Cottage Gardens, Flower Beds, Landscapes, Mass Planting, Rock Gardens, Specimen, Xeriscaping
Nature Attraction: Butterflies, Bees, Pollinators, Birds
Critter Resistance: Deer, Rabbits
Notable Features: Cut/Dried Flower, Salt Tolerant, Heat & Drought Tolerant
Growth Habit: Upright, Clumping

Homeowner Growing Tips: Stays upright & compact with full sun. Grows best in poor, well drained soil. Good in dry, sandy, or shallow, rocky soils. Fertilize at no more than half the recommended rate for flowering perennials. Deadhead flowers to encourage rebloom by cutting stalks back by one third to one half after first blooming; then, after final bloom at the end of summer, cut stalks to the ground, leaving the new foliage at the base. Resents transplanting once established; to divide, carefully remove offsets from the base of mature plants in spring.

Photo courtesy of Swift Greenhouses, Inc.