Echinops hussonii Seeds | Husson’s Globe Thistle
LATIN NAME: Echinops hussonii
COMMON NAME: Husson’s Globe Thistle
Plant Profile
Husson’s Globe Thistle (Echinops hussonii) is a perennial in the daisy family, native to warm, dry, sunny places of the western and central Asia, while it is treasured for its fine, round, spiky, blue globe heads. In daisy family it is steel-blue globe thistle of dry steppe, a plant whose round, spiky heads of blossom are pride of summer border. At maturity it stands about One metre. Taken as a whole, it is a plant that repays a little attention many times over.
Science & Biotechnology
Botanists studying the daisy family regularly include Echinops hussonii in comparative work, and the species also appears in horticultural trials aimed at gardeners and growers. The Husson’s globe thistle appears in dry-land ecology papers of the western and central Asia, and botanists have mapped its place in daisy family and regional flora. The upshot for anyone sowing it is reassurance — cultivated stock of this plant has a long, well-documented track record.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden, Husson’s Globe Thistle earns its place in borders, containers and mixed plantings, and it also rewards growers who raise plants for cutting, drying or kitchen use. In dry garden and the border, the Husson’s globe thistle is blue globe of sunny corner. Its spiky heads feed bees and butterflies, its dry fruits feed birds, and prickly, bluish-green form gives garden a fine, bold presence. It has served border and cutting garden, and it grows well in dry, well-drained ground of open, sunny spot. Thereafter it wants only the ordinary attentions any garden plant receives.
Globe thistles are architectural bee-magnets; their alkaloids have been studied pharmacologically, but their garden role is bold, drought-proof form.
Growing from Seed
Husson’s Globe Thistle grows readily from seed. Use a fine, free-draining seed compost, scatter the seed evenly, cover it lightly and hold it just moist in good light. When the young plants are big enough to handle, space them into pots or a nursery row and let them size up before their final move.
Our Take
Husson’s Globe Thistle is the kind of plant that rewards a permanent spot. Given the right start, Husson’s Globe Thistle is a long-term garden companion. Minor errors in timing or watering rarely cost the grower the crop.
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