Field scabious

Field scabious: how do you recognise it?

Habit

A loose rosette with branching, hairy stems 50–80 cm tall and about 45 cm wide.

Leaves

Grey-green and roughly hairy; the lower leaves are often undivided, the stem leaves deeply cut.

Flower

Domed heads 3–4 cm across, made up of many small flowers; the outer ones are larger than those in the centre.

Colour

Lilac to pale bluish purple, with pale stamens sticking out of the head.

Roots

A sturdy taproot, which makes it very drought-tolerant.

Flowering: June–September · Sowing: March–April and September · Plants: March–April and September–October · Pruning: March and September

Why grow it?

• A star for wild bees: the large scabious mining bee collects its pollen almost only from field scabious and close relatives.
• Butterflies, bumblebees and hoverflies visit it all summer.
• A long flowering season, from June to September.
• Native and drought-tolerant: ideal for a poor-soil wildflower meadow or a sunny bank.
• In autumn, birds such as goldfinches eat the seed.

Field scabious: where does it grow best?

• Full sun.
• Poor to moderately fertile soil: sand, loam or clay, acid to chalky; it is happy on chalk.
• Dry to normal, free-draining soil; it does not tolerate wet feet.
• Allow 30–40 cm between plants, or sow it among grasses and other meadow flowers.

Light

Sun

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Dry or normal

Size

0.8 m tall, 0.45 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -35 °C)

Goes well with

• Ox-eye daisy: White flowers in June–July: together a classic wildflower meadow.
• Common knapweed: Purple heads and another bee magnet, on the same poor soil.
• Wild marjoram: Fragrant, low and loved by butterflies in late summer.
• Bird’s-foot trefoil: Low yellow flowers at its feet and a food plant for butterflies such as the common blue.

Field scabious: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April and September–October.

1. Plant in March–April or September–October.
2. Do not feed or add compost: in rich soil it grows floppy and falls over.
3. Make a hole slightly larger than the pot and set the plant at the same depth as before.
4. Keep 30–40 cm between plants; in a meadow, plant them in small groups among the grass.
5. Water after planting and during the first few weeks in dry spells.
6. You can also sow it: in March–April or September, scatter thinly on bare soil and press in lightly.

Care

Watering

Not needed once established: it copes well with drought.

Feeding

Never: poor soil gives sturdy plants and more flowers.

Mowing

Mow a wildflower meadow only after the seed has set, in September, and remove the cuttings.

Spent flowers

In a border, deadheading prolongs flowering, but leave seed at the end of summer for the birds and for new plants.

Support

On richer soil it may flop: let it lean on grasses or other plants.

Tip: Sow or plant it in a poor-soil wildflower meadow and mow only after the seed has set: it will seed itself and the scabious mining bee will find its food again every year.

Field scabious: when to prune it?

Pruning months: March and September.

When: In September, after the seed has set, mow or cut the plant back. If you leave stems in a border for insects, cut them down in March.

How:

• Mow a wildflower meadow in September, after seed set, and remove the cuttings to keep the soil poor.
• In a border, cut the spent stems back to just above the rosette of leaves.
• Leave a few stems over winter: insects overwinter in them and birds eat the seed.
• Cut away the last dead stems in March, before new growth begins.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Sow outdoors in March–April or September, where it is to grow or in a tray. The seed germinates easily and plants often flower the year after sowing.

Basal cuttings

In April, cut young shoots from the base and root them in sandy cutting compost.

Self-sown seedlings

Let the plant seed itself and move the seedlings to where you want them in spring or autumn.

Field scabious: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −35 °C.

• Fully hardy, to about −35 °C: no protection needed.
• In mild winters the rosette of leaves often stays partly green.
• Wet soil in winter is a greater danger than frost.

Diseases and pests

• Powdery mildew: White powder on the leaves, especially in dry late summers. Usually not serious; cut off badly affected stems.
• Flopping: In soil that is too rich, the stems become weak. Do not feed, and let it lean on other plants.
• Disappearing: After a few years a plant sometimes dies. Let it self-seed so that young plants take its place.
• Slugs: They eat seedlings and young rosettes in spring. Pick them off and give hedgehogs and ground beetles a place in the garden.

Through the year

• March: Cut away dead stems. Sow or plant.
• April: Sow or plant. Take basal cuttings.
• June: Flowering begins. Bees and butterflies visit.
• July: Full flower. In a border, deadhead.
• August: In flower. Let seed ripen for the birds.
• September: Mow after seed set and remove the cuttings. Sow.
• October: Plant. Move seedlings.
• November: Leave a few stems for overwintering insects.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Butterflies

Nectar for butterflies.

Birds

Berries, seeds or insects as food, or a place to nest.

Did you know?

• The large scabious mining bee collects its pollen almost only from field scabious and related species. You can recognise it by the pink pollen loads on its hind legs.
• What looks like one flower is a head of many small flowers; the outer ones are larger than those in the centre and so attract insects.