Echinops ritro
$28.99
Echinops ritro forms upright clumps with prickly dark-green foliage and violet-blue spherical flowerheads for cutting and pollinators.
- Description
- Additional information
Description
Echinops ritro is an accepted deciduous herbaceous perennial also called small globe thistle, blue hedgehog, or steel globe thistle. It grows about 1.5 to 3 feet tall and up to 1.5 feet wide. Silvery branched stems carry jaggedly divided prickly dark-green leaves with whitish undersides and rounded violet-blue flowerheads from July through September.
Grow it in full sun or partial shade in acidic, alkaline, or neutral chalky, loamy, sandy, or rocky soil that drains well. It suits gravel gardens, borders, prairie planting, cutting, dried arrangements, and pollinator gardens. Established plants tolerate drought; deadhead to limit seedlings. The prickly foliage presents a mechanical scratch or puncture hazard. The selected exact-species evidence does not establish normal consumer edibility or an ingestion-toxicity classification for people, dogs, cats, or horses.
Additional information
| Height | 2 ft – 3 ft |
|---|---|
| Spread | 5 in – 2 ft |
| Flowering months | July, August, September |
| Family | Asteraceae |
| Hazardous | yes |
| Variegated | no |
| Color flower autumn | Purple, Blue |
| Color flower summer | Purple, Blue |
| Aspect | East, South, West |
| Foliage | Deciduous |
| Habit | Clump-former |
| Moisture | Well Drained Soil |
| Ph | Acid, Alkaline, Neutral |
| Position | Full sun, Partial shade |
| Shape | Upright |
| Suggest planting location | Flowering borders, Gravel and stone gardens, Prairie style planting |
| Type | Perennial |
| Use for | Cutting Garden, Low maintenance, Pollinator-Friendly |
| Years to max height | 2 |
| Drought resistance | yes |
| Cultivation | Grow in full sun or partial shade in acidic, alkaline, or neutral soil that drains well. |
| Soil | Chalk, Loam, Sand |
| Local names | Small Globe Thistle, Blue Hedgehog, Steel Globe Thistle |
| Blomidon Item No | MO23017577, ZECHRI0001G, 201812280, 201767239 |
| Usps | Violet-blue spherical flowerheads provide bold summer structure., Flowers attract pollinators and suit fresh or dried cutting., Provide sun, lean soil, and good drainage. |
| Propagation | Propagate by seed in mid spring, by division in spring or autumn, or by root cuttings in winter. |
| Pests | May be affected by aphids. |
| Diseases | Generally disease-free. |
| Pruning | Deadhead to limit self-seeding. |
| Hazardous information | Prickly foliage can cause mechanical scratch or puncture injuries. |
| Watering instructions | Keep soil well drained; established plants tolerate drought. |
| Sunlight instructions | Grow in full sun or partial shade. |