Centaurea pulcherrima
Most beautiful knapweed
- Height × spread
- 0.9m × 0.3m
- Position
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Colder than -20C (RHS H7)
- Flowers
- Summer
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
This pretty plant has silvery green leaves that are beautifully etched and dissected. The plant puts up slender flowering spikes carrying purple pinkish flowers in summer. It suits a hot dry spot. In the wild it grows alongside those big scarlet oriental poppies. You really need to appreciate the whole plant with its feathery foliage, so it is best sited in the front with the poppies behind. (Bear in mind the poppies may need support.)
- Flower colour
- Pink, Purple
- Foliage colour
- Green, Grey
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- No
- Shape
- Dome
- Height
- 0.9m
- Spread
- 0.3m
- Season of interest
- Summer
- Flowers in
- Summer
- Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Garden style
- Seaside garden, Gravel garden
- Sun or shade
- Likes full sun, tolerates part shade
- Soil type
- Gravelly soil, Loam (normal), Poor soil, Sandy soil
- Soil pH
- All types
- Drainage
- Well drained soil, Dry soil, Drought resistant
- Hardiness
- Colder than -20C (RHS H7)
- Borders & containers
- Borders
- Use for
- Bee attraction, Butterfly attraction
- Hazards
- No
Spring
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Water in dry periods
Established plants in the ground can cope with 7-10 days of dryness, and shrubs often manage 2 to 3 weeks. Water one section of the garden thoroughly each day rather than a little everywhere. Check plants in pots more often, especially in hot weather.
Summer
Summer - early · Outdoors
Feed a general fertiliser
Where plants have moderate needs for nutrients, they can simply be given a general feed, fairly early in the growth season so that the growth has plenty of time to harden off before the cold weather.
Give plants a general boost with the application of a general purpose fertiliser which is spread around the root area of the plant, with amounts as directed on the feed label.
Found in
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