Echinops ritro
Globe Thistle
Plant Family:
Asteraceae
Herbaceous Plant, Perennial
Flower:
Blue
Blooms :
Jul
to:
Sep
Pale purplish-blue, spiny, golf-ball size sphere
Botanical Description
Fragrant?
No
Foliage:
Green
Deciduous
Nancy Glick
Deeply lobed, curled and roughly- toothed spiny margins, coarse and covered with prickly hairs, white underside
Oregon Native?
No
West State Native?
No
Central Asia, South-Central and Southeastern Europe
Site Selection
Minimum USDA Hardiness Zone:
3
Water Needs:
L
Sun Needs:
Full Sun
Deer Resistant?
Yes
Firewise?
No
Height:
2-3'
Spread:
2 - 3'
Growth Rate:
Fast
Native Habitat:
Central Asia, South-Central and Southeastern Europe
Soil:
Average, poor, shallow-rocky, infertile (avoid rich soils), dry, well-drained
Care Recommendations
Maintenance Level:
Medium
Fertilizer:
Low
Mulch:
Long Term:
Taprooted plant; difficult to divide or transplant; winter survival improved if not cut back until spring
Winter:
Do not cut back
Spring:
Cut back; stake if desired; after at least 3 years and when plantlets are visible, can divide--cut back roots to 8"
Summer:
Deadhead to prevent reseeding and/or cut back to basal foliage after flowering to encourage ;rebloom; stake if necessary- Watch for aphids
Fall:
Deadhead
Common Problems
Diseases:
Insects:
Melon aphid, four-lined plant bug, celery (greenhouse) leaftier, crown rot, aphids, (no problems serious)
Also called: