Annuals & Biennials

Scabiosa
sweet scabious

- Height 11/2-3 ft (45-90 cm)
- Planting distance 9 in (23 cm)
- Flowers midsummer to early fall
- Fertile, well-drained soil
- Open, sunny site
- Hardy annual

Sweet scabious (Scabiosa atropurpurea), a graceful plant with elegantly divided foliage, carries closely packed fragrant flowers in blue, mauve, purple, red, pink, and white on slender stems 3 ft (90 cm) tall. The plant is ideal both for cutting and for beds.

Popular species and cultivars
'Blue Moon' has lavender-blue flowers, ideal for cutting. Left on the plant, the flowers fade to lovely papery blue-eyed seed heads.
'Dwarf Double Mixed' is a short cultivar reaching just 11/2 ft (45 cm) high, but it carries large fragrant flowers in mixed colors.
'Stellata' grows to 21/2 ft (75 cm) high. Its silvery blue flowers develop into attractive large round seed heads with a greenish, spiny starlike center. They are excellent for dried flower arrangements.

Annuals
and
Biennials