Perennials > Echinops > Echinops ritro > Echinops ritro
Echinops ritro
Small Globe Thistle, Blue Hedgehog, Globe Flower, Steel Globe Thistle
| Family |
| Asteraceae |
| Genus |
| Echinops |
| Species |
| ritro |
| Category |
| Perennials |
| Pronunciation |
| USDA Hardiness Zone |
| 6b - 6a |
| Canadian Hardiness Zone |
| 6a - 6b |
| RHS Hardiness Zone |
| H7 |
| Height |
| 91 - 122 cm |
| Spread |
| 61 - 76 cm |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| General Description |
| Echinops ritro is a low maintenance, bushy herbaceous perennial with dark green, thistle-like leaves and globular blooms atop rigid stems. |
| Landscape |
| Provides a nice contrast in texture and colour in a perennial border, near the back or in a butterfly or cut flower garden. |
| Cultivation |
| Grows easily in full sun in dry to medium moisture, well-drained soil. Requires moisture during growing season but deep roots make it tolerant to some drought. May need to be staked especially if grown in rich soil. Deadheading prevents self-seeding. |
| Growth |
| Medium |
| Pests |
| Susceptible to aphids. No serious diseases of note. |
| Leaf Description |
| Deeply lobed, prickly, dark green and whitish beneath. |
| Flower Description |
| Showy, steel blue or violet-blue, golf ball sized, attracts butterflies, dries well. |
| Propagation |
| By seed sown in beds in mid-spring and division in spring or autumn. Also by root cuttings collected in the autumn, cut into 5 cm lengths and placed horizontally in flats. Cover with barley, water and place in a cold frame until growth appears then pot individually. |
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