CAUCASIAN
SCABIOUS
Family DIPSACEAE
Scabiosa caucasica
Perennial
The Caucasian Scabious is, as the name implies,
a native of the Caucasus and is the finest of
the perennial species for the flower border.
The plant comprises a dense tuft of foliage, the
upper portions of the leaves being cut and divided.
The flowers, borne on stems up to two feet high,
are three to four inches across and comprise broad
ray petals of lavender-blue radiating from a cushion-like
centre.
The many garden varieties have superseded the
type, having larger flowers that range in colour
from white to lavender-blue, mauve and deep blue.
Scabiosa columbaria is similar in all respects but colour,
which is an attractive mauve-pink, and the plant
lacks the robust character of the Siberian species.
Well-drained medium to light loam, rich in humus,
is necessary, and it is essential to dress the
ground above the roots with lime regularly in
spring and autumn.
Propagate by division, cuttings or from seed.
The flowering season is from early summer until
autumn.
Scabious – Perennial
Hardy Perennial.
The varieties of perennial Scabious desirable
for general gardening are Scabious Caucasica, and Scabious
gigantea.
In both the shape of the flowers is the same as
in the “German” varieties, a cushioned
centre of thick-set florets, with a border of
wider guard-petals.
In Caucasica the colour is a very lovely and distinct
shade of mauve or lilac-blue, with a pinkish under-tinge;
the plant grows from two to three feet high, and
flowers in July.
It should be given an open situation and plenty
of space in a border of deep soil.
Unfortunately it is not a “good doer”,
and is apt, after a season’s flowering,
to disappear.
There is also a white-flowered form.
Gigantea reaches a height of six or seven feet,
with stout stem and bold foliage; the flowers
are of a light creamy yellow, and are freely produced.
Good garden soil, with plenty of space and air,
are its main requirements.; it must not be starved
for moisture.
Both these kinds may be planted in early spring.
Scabious Caucasica may be raised from seed sown on moderate
heat in arch, forwarded as a half-hardy annual,
and planted out in its flowering quarters when
spring frosts are past.
See Also : Scabious Biennial
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