Scutellaria altissima
Tallest skullcap
- Height × spread
- 0.45m × 1m
- Position
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Very cold to -20C (RHS H6)
- Flowers
- Summer
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
This is an attractive but low-key plant that has stems carrying pairs of veined green leaves on the upright stems. The flowers are carried on one side of a long upright flowering stem. They are coloured blue-purple with a pale lower lip. Once the June and July flowering season is over the stems remain with neat rows of green calyces spaced along their length and looking like naked zip-fasteners. The plant grows naturally in open deciduous woods and slopes on poor soils in the Caucasus and Turkey as well as southern Russia.
- Flower colour
- Blue, Cream, Purple, White
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- No
- Shape
- Column
- Height
- 0.45m
- Spread
- 1m
- Season of interest
- Summer
- Flowers in
- Summer
- Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Garden style
- Wild flower meadow
- Sun or shade
- Likes full sun, tolerates part shade
- Soil type
- Loam (normal)
- Soil pH
- Alkaline, Neutral
- Drainage
- Moisture retentive soil, Well drained soil
- Hardiness
- Very cold to -20C (RHS H6)
- Borders & containers
- Borders
- Use for
- Ground cover
- Hazards
- No
Spring
Spring - late · Outdoors
Feed with slow release fertiliser
Apply a general purpose slow release fertiliser, spreading it around the root area of the plant as it is coming into growth. (Or apply a liquid feed at regular intervals throughout the growing season.)
This is a simple way to provide a nutrient boost as a single annual procedure.
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Water to keep the soil moist
For best results, this plant needs soil that is always moist. Water deeply and regularly as soon as soil appears dry. Even for established plants in the ground, a dry week can cause problems with some soils. Check plants in pots more often, especially in hot weather. Or install an automatic irrigation system which will do the hard work for you, even when you are away on holiday.
Without regular watering some plants never fully regain their beauty.
Spring - early-mid · Planting
Divide when too large
The plant can be divided if it becomes too large or another plant is required. This may involve physically dividing the clump in two, removing offsets or small bulbs or dividing rhizomes. The new plants can be grown in pots or planted in the ground.
Found in
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