List 4 – Eryngium giganteum
Eryngium giganteum (Miss. Willmott’s ghost)
Family: Apiaceae
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4-7
Size:
- 10-50 cm wide
- 50cm-1m tall
Form:
- Clump-forming
Soil & Water requirements:
- Will grow in poor to moderately fertile soils, but prefers moist, fertile soils
- Well-drained
- Drought tolerant
Exposure:
- Full sun
Leaves:
- First year: rosette of basal leaves; heart shaped
- Second year: stems grow from basal leaves with smaller, ovate and spiny leaves
- Biennial or short-lived perennial
Flowers:
- Showy involucre (set of bracts below inflorescence)
- Involucre is shiny and lighter in colour; silvery-grey
- Cone-like umbels of steel blue flowers
- Flowers occur in second year of establishment
Suitable uses:
- Informal gardens
- Cottage or coastal gardens
- Flower borders
- Cut flowers
- Containers
Potential pairings:
- Echinacea purpurea
Attracts:
- Wasps
- Butterflies
Other:
- Named Miss Willmont’s ghost because of English gardener Ellen Willmott (1858-1934); she would scatter seeds from this plant regularly in gardens she visited without the owners being aware; it was her favorite plant