Scientific name: Echinops bannaticus
Synonym: Echinops ritro
Family: ASTERACEAE
Common names: “Globe thistle” “blue globe thistle”
“Hungarian globe thistle”
Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial with evergreen basal growth
Conditions:
Zone: 3-8
Light: Full sun best, will handle some shade but if too much shade than the stalks will become too elongated and floppy
Exposure: Exposed or sheltered
Soil: Grows best in poor, rocky sandy soil, prefers less clay
Moisture:Dry – drought tolerant, must be well drained
Aesthetic:
Plant Size: H 2-4′ W 1-2′
Leaf and Stem shape: Upright, grey, woolly stems and spiny, hairy, grey-green divided leaves
Flower: Spherical blue-grey to blue flowerheads, are produced in mid- and late summer
Maintenance: Grows from a taproot and does not enjoy being transplanted, requires no division, can be cut to lateral buds for a second flush, after bloom, also cut back old foliage when flowering stalks emerge, but don’t cut into the evergreen basal growth
Landscape use: Flower borders, wildlife garden, gravel garden, architectural
Propagate: By seed, division and root cuttings.
Pests & Disease: Aphids sometimes, generally healthy
*Deer resistant
Comments: Attracts bees and butterflies, prickly leaves can be painful
Cultivars: E. b. ‘Big Glow’ & ‘Taplow Blue’ – both have deeper blue colour
Vancouver Island Grows 