Moroccan toadflax

Moroccan toadflax: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Slender, upright annual 20–35 cm tall and 10–15 cm wide, bushy in groups.

Leaves

Narrow, linear, 2–4 cm long and grey-green; scattered along the stem.

Flowers

Small snapdragon-like flowers 1–2 cm long with a short spur, in violet, pink, red, yellow or white, often with a white or yellow throat.

Fruit

Small capsules holding many very fine seeds.

Roots

Fine and shallow; the plant transplants poorly and is therefore sown in place.

Flowering: June–August · Sowing: March–May · Pruning: July

Why grow it?

• Flowers from June to August in little spikes in a wide range of colours.
• Easy to sow in place: no raising indoors.
• Bumblebees and bees visit the little spurred flowers.
• Tolerates drought and lean soil: ideal for gravel and rock gardens.
• Cut back, it flowers a second time.

Moroccan toadflax: where does it grow best?

• Full sun.
• Well-drained, lean soil: sand or loam, acid to chalky. Not in wet clay.
• Dry to normally moist; once established it tolerates drought.
• Open spots without dense planting; it is too small to compete with tall weeds.
• Keep 10–15 cm between plants, in groups or drifts.

Light

Sun

Soil type

Sand or loam

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Dry or normal

Size

0.3 m tall, 0.15 m wide

Hardiness

Tolerates light frost (to -5 °C)

Goes well with

• Stonecrop: Likes the same sunny, lean spot.
• Lavender: Purple flowers and grey foliage in a gravel garden.
• Poppy: Red accents in a cornfield mix.
• Cornflower: Blue flowers among the coloured spikes.

Moroccan toadflax: when and how to plant it?

1. Sow in March–May outdoors, in place, as soon as the soil is no longer frozen.
2. Break the soil down fine and remove weeds; no feed is needed.
3. Mix the dust-fine seed with a little sand and scatter it thinly. Only press it in and do not cover it.
4. Keep the soil moist with a fine rose until the seedlings appear, after about 2 weeks.
5. Thin the seedlings to 10–15 cm apart.
6. Sow a new patch every 2–3 weeks for a longer flowering period.

Care

Water

Moderate: only when sowing and in long droughts. After that it copes on its own.

Feeding

Not needed; in rich soil it grows floppy and flowers less.

Cutting back

After the first flush in July cut back for a second flowering.

Support

Usually not needed; in groups the thin stems support each other.

Weeding

Keep the seedlings free of weeds in the first weeks.

Tip: Mix the fine seed with sand, scatter it thinly and only press it in. Cut the plants back after the first flush in July: you will get a second flowering and a fresh plant.

Moroccan toadflax: when to prune it?

Pruning months: July.

When: After the first flush, in late June or July.

How:

• Cut the plants back by about half with scissors, just above a leaf.
• Then give a good watering.
• Remove spent and brown stems to keep the plant fresh.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Sowing

In March–May in place (see planting). Store the seed dry and cool.

Self-seeding

Let a few fruits ripen in September: on open, lean soil it seeds itself.

Moroccan toadflax: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −5 °C: protect in harsh winters.

• Annual: the plant dies in autumn.
• Seed and seedlings tolerate frost to about −5 °C; young spring seedlings can survive a late night frost.
• Leave the seed stems standing in autumn for self-seeding and birds; clear them in spring.

Diseases and pests

• Slugs: May strip young seedlings. Collect them in the evening or spread a ring of coarse material.
• Damping off: Seedlings collapse if sown too thickly or the soil is too wet. Sow thinly and do not overwater.
• Aphids: On young shoots in warm weather. A jet of water is usually enough; ladybirds help.
• Floppy stems: Caused by too much feed or too little light. Choose a sunny, lean spot and do not feed.

Through the year

• March: Sow in place on light, lean soil.
• April: Sow. Thin the seedlings.
• May: Last sowing. Weed.
• June: Flowering begins.
• July: After the first flush cut back and water.
• August: Second flowering.
• September: Seed ripens; leave a few fruits.
• October: Clear up or leave the seed stems.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• The name Linaria comes from the Latin linum, flax: the narrow leaves resemble those of flax.
• The flower has a short spur at the back: it is a snapdragon-type flower pollinated by bumblebees.
• It comes from Morocco, but in a sunny spot here it often seeds itself.