Description
Dark, crimson coloured pincushion flowers are held on tall, slender stems for a very long season from early Summer until September. A members of the thistle family with a loose rambling habit with it’s pretty flower and seed heads bobbing in the breeze. Very popular with bees and butterflies and provides a valuable nectar and pollen source.
Height and spread: 0.8 m Height, 0.45m Spread
Common name: Crimson Scabious
Position in the garden: Full sun
Soil type: Moderately fertile, moist well drained soil, pref. alkaline.
Flowering period: July to September
Hardiness: Fully Hardy
Goes well with:
Flowers - Phlomis russeliana (Jerusalem sage, Turkish sage), Achillea (yarrow), Salvia verticillate ‘Purple Rain’ (meadow sage), Rudbeckia occidentalise (western coneflower), Phlomis russeliana (Turkish sage).
Grasses - Sesleria autumnalis (autumn moor grass).
Care of Knautia macedonica
Benefits from support with twiggy sticks or brushwood before flower appear. A good idea to grow with a support plant like Foeniculum vulgar (fennel) to help keep upriught. Knautia can be prone to powdery mildew, a mulch of well rotted manure in Autumn will help, also keep well watered in dry weather. Cut down plants to ground level just before growth resumes in March.
Wildlife benefits
Flowers are full of nectar and pollen for bees, a good nectar source for butterflies.
