Small scabious

Small scabious: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Loose clump 30–50 cm tall and about 30 cm wide, with thin, branched flower stems.

Leaves

Rosette leaves lobed to cut, stem leaves finely divided; grey-green and slightly hairy.

Flower

Domed heads 2–3 cm across, packed with tiny tubular flowers; the outer ones are larger and form a collar.

Colour

Soft lilac to blue-violet; also pink in some cultivars.

Fruit

Round seed heads with fine bristles that remain after flowering.

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

Why grow it?

• Flowers for almost five months, from June to October, if you deadhead.
• A favourite with butterflies, bees and bumblebees.
• Native and drought-tolerant: ideal for a sunny rock garden, gravel garden or dry flower meadow.
• Compact and graceful: also suits the front of the border or a pot.
• The round seed heads are decorative after flowering too.

Small scabious: where does it grow best?

• Full sun: in shade it hardly flowers and flops.
• Sand, loam or chalky clay, neutral to alkaline and above all well drained.
• Dry soil: it cannot stand wet feet in winter.
• Plant 25–30 cm apart, about ten plants per m².

Light

Sun

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Neutral or chalky

Moisture

Dry

Size

0.5 m tall, 0.3 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -25 °C)

Goes well with

• Wild marjoram: Native, fragrant and also loved by butterflies, for the same dry, chalky soil.
• Common knapweed: Purple flower heads in a dry flower meadow.
• Lady’s bedstraw: Fragrant yellow sprays, native and drought-tolerant.
• Catmint: A long-flowering blue edging in the sun.
• Feather grass: Fine, swaying grass around the lilac heads.

Small scabious: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–May and September.

1. Plant from March to May or in September, when the soil is not too wet.
2. Dig a hole twice as wide as the pot. On heavy soil, mix in coarse sand or fine gravel.
3. On acid soil, a handful of lime or limestone grit in the planting hole helps.
4. Set the plant at the same depth as it was in the pot: the crown must not be buried.
5. Water in moderately; after that only in prolonged dry spells.
6. Mulch with gravel, not compost: it keeps the crown dry.

Care

Water

Rarely needed once established; regularly in pots.

Feeding

Not needed: it flowers best on poor soil.

Deadheading

Regularly cut faded heads back to a leaf or side bud: it will keep flowering into October.

Seed

Late in summer, let a few heads set seed: the plant is short-lived, but seedlings take over.

Pots

In a pot, use gritty compost with a layer of gravel at the bottom.

Tip: Deadhead regularly and give it a dry, sunny spot with chalky, well-drained soil: it will then flower from June into October.

Small scabious: when to prune it?

Pruning months: March and June–September.

When: From June to September, deadhead regularly. In March, clear away the old stems and dead leaves.

How:

• Cut a faded head off with its stem, back to a leaf or a new bud.
• In September, let a few heads ripen if you want seed or seedlings.
• In March, cut the old stems back to just above the leaf rosette.

Caution: Do not cut right down to the ground in autumn: the leaf rosette protects the crown in winter.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Indoors in March, or outdoors in April–May. Barely cover the seed and keep it lightly moist; it germinates within a few weeks. Plant out once the seedlings are sturdy.

Cuttings

In April–May, take cuttings of young shoots from the base and root them in sandy cutting compost.

Small scabious: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −25 °C.

• Hardy to about −25 °C: no problem in Belgium, provided the soil is well drained.
• Wet winters are more dangerous than frost: in wet soil it rots away.
• In a pot: stand it under cover in winter so the compost does not become waterlogged.

Diseases and pests

• Root rot: The plant rots away in winter on wet, heavy soil. Improve drainage or plant it on a raised spot.
• Powdery mildew: White powder on the leaves in dry late summers. Not very harmful: remove affected leaves.
• Slugs: They eat young plants in spring. Pick them off in the evening.
• Short life: After a few years it weakens. Keep some seedlings or sow again.

Through the year

• March: Cut down old stems. Sow indoors. Plant.
• April: Sow outdoors. Plant. Take cuttings.
• May: Sow outdoors. Plant.
• June: Flowering begins. Deadhead.
• July: In flower. Deadhead.
• August: In flower. Deadhead.
• September: In flower. Let a few heads ripen. Plant.
• October: Last flowers. Leave the seed heads.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Butterflies

Nectar for butterflies.

Did you know?

• Columbaria comes from the Latin columba, dove; the Dutch name ‘duifkruid’, dove herb, is a literal translation.
• The name Scabiosa comes from the Latin scabies, itch: people once believed the plant helped against skin complaints.
• A flower head is made up of dozens of tiny flowers; the outer ones are larger and face outwards, so the whole looks like a single large flower.