code: 625
beauty and elegance all rolled into one
Family: Cruciferae
Plant Classification: Hardy biennial Half hardy annual
Maximum Height: 30 cm
One of the most beautiful annuals with dense, showy spikes of sweetly-scented flowers. Ideal for beds, borders, and cut flowers and good for winter flowering in the greenhouse or conservatory. Perfume, beauty, and elegance all rolled into one.
Sowing advice:
(MATHIOLA INCANA) Sow from late winter to early summer at 15 C in good compost but do not exclude light which helps germination.
Plant Uses:
Cottage/Informal Gardens. Flowers Borders and Beds, Coastal. Cut flower arranging.
Origin:
Matthiola is a genus of 55 species. Matthiola incana is a short-lived perennial, native to the lands along the Mediterranean from Spain to Turkey and south to Egypt. It is a plant of rocky cliffs and harsh dry land.
In the US, Jefferson listed “Gilliflower” as a hardy perennial in 1771. This Mediterranean flower is usually grown as an annual or biennial today.
Used extensively by the commercial floral industry because of its spicy scent and long lasting blooms, Matthiola incana may have been commercially cultivated as far back as the Roman Empire. An English garden favorite since Elizabethan times, Matthiola incana produces both single and double flowers and long grayish-green leaves. White is the most common colour, but Matthiola incana also grows in pink, red, yellow, lilac and purple.
