Description of the 20 best varieties of perennial scabiosa, growing from seeds

Perennial scabiosa has many advantages. In addition to beautiful multi-colored flowers, the plant will delight you with its high resistance to low temperatures and drought. Knowing the rules for planting and caring for a flower, you will be able to achieve lush and long-lasting flowering. All varieties and varieties differ in growth characteristics, flowering times, shape and color of inflorescences. It is permissible to plant both seeds and pre-prepared seedlings in open flower beds.

Description and features

Perennial scabiosa is a herbaceous or shrubby plant. Popular names for the flower include teasel, scrofula, rough cornflower, and buttonweed:

• The flower stem is strong, erect or branched. It reaches a height of 1 meter.
• The leaves are oblong, feather-shaped.
• The inflorescences are located at the very end of the stem, forming dense bunches in the form of a ball or hemisphere.
• The strong aroma of scabiosa attracts pollinating insects.
• The fruit is an achene with a bell-shaped shell.

Certain parts of the plant have healing properties. Infusions and decoctions are used to treat headaches or toothaches, skin rashes, and help cope with colds.

Kinds

There are more than a hundred species and varieties of scabiosa. Most of them are bred artificially.

Star-shaped

The flower does not grow more than 42 cm in height. The flowers are light blue or cornflower blue. The leaves are golden-green in color. Flowering begins in mid-summer and continues until the last days of September.

Pigeon

This type of flower loves moist soil, so it grows along the banks of streams.You can also meet them in the meadows. The stem has slight branching, the leaves are oblong-rounded. The flowering period occurs in mid-summer and lasts until mid-September.

Caucasian

This type of scabiosa is distinguished by a wide palette of colors. There are inflorescences of lilac, red, lilac, and snow-white shades. Flowering is long lasting. Flowers grow up to 8 cm in diameter. They are often chosen to decorate a garden plot. The stem extends up to 76 cm.

Japanese

The stem reaches a height of up to one meter. The leaves are oblong with lacy edges. Inflorescences are cornflower blue or purple.

Olga

The height of the branched shrub is no more than 54 cm. The leaves are silvery with pubescence. Blue flowers bloom in mid-July.

Dark purple

The plant forms a bush up to 78 cm high. The flowers are double, purple, light pink or lilac in color. A persistent sweetish aroma emanates from the inflorescences.

Polaniferous

Scabiosa of this variety is distinguished by a delicate white-blue hue of inflorescences. The bush grows up to 63 cm.

Pale yellow

This type of plant reaches a height of 110 cm. The stem is erect, the flowers are light yellow in diameter up to 3.5 cm. The buds begin to open in June.

Venechnaya

The bush of scabiosa coronata is formed low, up to 55 cm. The flowers are painted white or blue-violet. The diameter of the head reaches 4 cm. Flowering begins in early August.

Gigantic

This variety of scabiosa is distinguished by the large size of the inflorescence head. The color of the petals is pale blue or blue. The buds begin to open in early June.

Popular varieties

Each variety of scabiosa has its own characteristics.

Blue Note

The height of the Blue Note bush does not exceed 19 cm. The stems are straight and branched.The flowers are dark purple. Abundant flowering begins in July.

Pink Mist

The plant forms a bush up to 38 cm in height. Lavender or pink flowers up to 5.5 cm in diameter bloom in late July.

Blauer Atlas

The plant produces deep blue-violet flowers in late July.

Clive Greaves

Stem height 58 cm. Flowers light lavender color. Their diameter in the inflorescence reaches 7.5 cm. Flowering begins in mid-summer. Stem leaves are carved.

Miss Willmott

The height of the thin, strong stem is 87 cm. The flowers are snow-white or cream-colored.

Nachtfalter

The Night Moth variety is distinguished by bright blue or violet-blue flowers with a diameter of up to 6 cm.

Moerheim Blue

The herbaceous perennial plant reaches a height of up to 58 cm. The stems are erect and branched. Numerous violet-blue flowers up to 5 cm in diameter are formed on the peduncles.

Blue Moon

The perennial plant produces pale blue inflorescences. The height of the erect stem is up to 64 cm.

Rose Cackade

The plant belongs to the dark purple variety. The inflorescences are pink. Flowering begins at the end of July.

Monarch Cockade

The scabiosa variety is distinguished by large double inflorescences of various colors.

Fire King

The variety is distinguished by bright, large, fluffy red inflorescences with small white petals. The height of the straight, strong stem reaches 92 cm.

Frozen heart

This variety is characterized by abundant flowering. The stems are straight, branched, 86 cm high. The inflorescences are lush, white-blue or lavender in color, up to 6.5 cm in diameter.

Blauer Mond

The stem of the herbaceous plant stretches up to 58 cm in height. The inflorescences are dark blue.

Laherosa

The flower variety is distinguished by a compact bush 48 cm high.Inflorescences are dark burgundy.

Fairy

The bushes grow small, only 24 cm. The flowers are dark blue.

Schneebal

The height of the stem is no more than 32 cm. The buds appear in July, the inflorescences are snow-white with a pleasant, sweetish aroma.

Isaac's House

The variety is distinguished by large inflorescences with a diameter of up to 9.5 cm of lilac-white color. Flowering begins at the end of June.

Japanese romance

The flowers of this variety are distinguished by lilac-pink shades. The height of the weakly branched stem does not exceed 24 cm.

Butterfly Blue

The bush is compact (diameter up to 28 cm), low, up to 38 cm in height. Blue-lavender flowers are collected in dense capitate inflorescences. The buds begin to bloom in mid-July.

Ritz Blue

The variety is characterized by its small height. The stem is straight and strong, stretches up to 22 cm. The flowers are small, violet-blue in color.

How to plant in open ground

In most cases, there are no difficulties with planting scabiosa. Maintenance is minimal and does not require a large investment of time and effort.

Selecting a location

A flat area that is well lit by the sun and protected from draft winds is suitable for planting a flower.

Soil requirements

Scabiosa does not take root well in heavy, clay soils. It is best to prepare the land in advance. In the fall, they dig it up and add organic matter.

Scabiosa feels good in fertile, loose soil with good aeration and low acidity. The ideal option is calcareous, loose soil. Too acidic soil causes the flower to wilt.

Before planting, the soil must be dug up again and nutrients added. It is advisable to carry out liming.

Sowing dates

They begin sowing seeds in an open area in the second half of April.

Planting scheme

In the selected area, shallow holes are made at intervals of 37 cm. The interval between rows is approximately 42 cm. After sowing the seeds, the soil is moistened and covered with a small layer of compost.

Growing through seedlings

If the climate is cold, then they choose to grow through seedlings. Sowing in specially prepared soil begins in March.

Preparation of planting material

If all storage rules are followed, the seeds remain viable for 3-4 years:

• The stratification procedure is carried out. The seeds are hardened in a humid environment. They are immersed in sand and left in the cold for about one month.
• Before planting, selection should be carried out. To do this, use a saline solution in which the seeds are immersed. After 15 minutes, bad specimens unsuitable for sowing should float to the surface. They need to be thrown away.
• Then the seeds are washed and laid out on a paper napkin.
• As soon as the planting material has dried, it should be immersed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate to disinfect the surface.
• Many gardeners soak seeds in fungicides to protect the plant from fungal and bacterial infections. Suitable drugs are Fitosporin or Baktofit.

How to plant

You can sow seeds in large boxes or individual pots. Small depressions are made in the soil, the seeds are distributed and sprinkled with a layer of sand on top. Then there is a layer of soil again. The plantings are watered, covered with film and put away in a bright, warm place for a week.

Ventilation

The film should be removed from the container for two hours every day. This will allow air to penetrate the soil and prevent rotting. It is imperative to ensure that condensation does not appear, as it causes mold to form on the soil. After more shoots appear, the film is removed.

Dive

As soon as the first pair of true leaves appears on the sprouts, the plant is planted in a separate container. If a common box is used, then maintain a distance of at least 6 cm between the sprouts.

A week before transplanting to an open area, the seedlings begin to harden off. The container with seedlings is taken outside every day. The time spent in the fresh air is increased gradually.

Planting in open ground

In the last days of May, the seedlings are transplanted into open flower beds. The soil on the site must first be dug up and fertilized. Make holes 16 mm deep at a distance of 32 cm and plant the seedlings. At first, it is better to cover the plantings with film at night.

Reproduction

Scabiosa is propagated by sowing seeds, dividing rhizomes and seedlings.

Seminal

The method is suitable for propagating both annual and perennial flower varieties. 3 peduncles are left on the rosette until the seeds are fully ripened. The seeds are collected in the fall and stored in fabric or cotton bags.

Start sowing seeds in the spring, following the recommended planting pattern. The first shoots should appear after two weeks, and after 2.5 months the plant will begin to bloom.

Division of rhizomes

Some varieties of the flower reproduce by dividing the rhizome. As soon as warm weather sets in in the spring, the rhizomes are dug up, cleared of soil and divided into separate parts. You should act carefully so as not to damage the root branches.

Care

The scabiosis flower is unpretentious and therefore requires minimal care. It is important to water the flower bed on time, add nutrients, prevent weeds from growing and carry out preventive spraying.

Watering and fertilizing

Rules to consider when watering perennial scabiosa:

• Establish regular moderate watering.
• As soon as the top layer of soil becomes dry, you need to start moistening. Once every 7 days is enough. In dry times, the frequency of watering is increased to twice every 7 days.
• Water for irrigation is taken warm and settled.
• It is better to carry out the procedure in the morning.

The plant needs to be fed 3-4 times per season. Before the buds appear, it is recommended to apply complex mineral fertilizer. During active flowering, compositions based on phosphorus and potassium will be useful. Fertilizer helps increase the number of buds and rich colors.

Loosening and weeding

After watering, the soil should be loosened. This will allow air and nutrients to freely penetrate to the roots of the plant.

Weeds should not be allowed to grow. They cause the spread of diseases and pests. In addition, weeds create shade, and small inflorescences form.

Trimming

Until the end of flowering, flower buds that have bloomed should be periodically cut off from the bushes. Thanks to the procedure, flowering will be lush and long-lasting. Cutting off the buds is also necessary to prevent self-seeding.

Preparing for winter

With the onset of cold weather, the perennial plant should be covered with spruce branches, fallen leaves, peat or straw. In regions with warm climates, scabiosis does not need shelter.

Collection and storage of seeds

Ripe seeds of inflorescences are easily dispersed by the wind, so a gauze bag is placed on the peduncle. Ripe seeds are burgundy in color. The collected seeds must be thoroughly dried and placed in a fabric bag or cardboard box. Should be stored in a dry, cool place.In such conditions, the seeds will not lose their viability for 4 years.

Diseases and pests

Scabiosa has good immunity to many diseases and is rarely attacked by insect pests. But in rainy summer conditions problems may arise.

Powdery mildew

The first sign of a fungal disease is a whitish coating on the outside of the leaf blade. The leaves gradually fade, turn yellow and fall off. The disease is provoked by excessive soil moisture, improper application of fertilizers, sudden changes in air temperature, the presence of weeds and dense planting of flowers:

• Chemicals such as Fundazol, Previkur, and Topaz help in the fight against powdery mildew.
• Compositions prepared according to folk recipes are considered effective. They may be based on components such as mustard, wood ash, soda, soap, and garlic broth.

Root rot

The affected plant's stem begins to thin and darken in the root zone. After infection, the spores move to the roots of the flower. Brown spots appear on the leaves. Gradually, the leaves begin to turn yellow, wither and dry out. Soon the entire flower dies. The cause of the spread of the disease is excessive soil moisture, poor-quality planting material, and improper care of plantings:

• The fight against root rot is effectively carried out by such drugs as “Fitolavin”, “Topaz”, “Maxim”, copper sulfate, “Gamair”.
• Among folk recipes, compositions based on wood ash, iodine, potassium permanganate, and whey are effective.

Flower moth larvae

The moth butterfly lays eggs on plants, from which caterpillars then emerge. They have a thin, hairless body that is greenish or brownish in color. The front pairs of legs of the caterpillar are not developed.

The insects are leaf-eating insects. As a result of their activity, the plant weakens and resistance to cold and infections decreases.

The following methods will help in pest control:

• treatment with chemicals: “Akarin”, “Fitoverm”, “Karbofos”, “Bitoxibacillin”;
• the use of folk recipes: decoctions of tomato tops, burdock, hot pepper.

Vole mice

Voles can harm plants. Their body length is approximately 11 cm, tail length is 4 cm. The fur is gray. Rodents eat flower stems.

Pest control methods:

• setting traps, traps;
• use of chemical, poisonous drugs;

Use in landscape design

Scabiosa will decorate alpine slides and any other flower beds. Looks beautiful along paths and borders.

How it is used in floristry

Scabiosa is used to create unusual bouquets for any festive event. Cut inflorescences do not lose their fresh appearance and aroma for 6 days. Scabiosa goes well with other flowers.