Scabiosa Lavender Glow
Pincushion flowers in soft lavender sit on thin stems well clear of the foliage on Scabiosa columbaria 'Lavender Glow'. Each flower is a flat disc of small florets with longer ones around the rim and a domed centre studded with pale stamens. The flowers keep coming from November right through to May where the plant is picked over regularly, a longer season than most perennials manage.
Scabiosa is one of the better front-of-border perennials for a long season, and it suits a sunny bed, a gravel garden, or a container on a deck. It sits well with catmint, salvia and grasses, which want the same conditions. Bees and butterflies use the flowers constantly through summer, and the stems cut neatly for small vases.
Full sun and free-draining soil, ideally on the alkaline side. Scabiosa dislikes heavy wet ground over winter far more than it dislikes drought, so add grit on clay sites and avoid low spots that stay damp. It performs through most New Zealand districts and takes coastal conditions. Space 0.4 m apart. Divide every two or three years, because clumps thin out in the middle if left alone.
A low clump about 0.3 m high with flower stems to 0.45 m, and roughly 0.4 m across.
Trimming: Cut the whole plant back to the basal foliage in late autumn once flowering finally stops. A light shear in midsummer refreshes a clump that has gone straggly and brings on a strong second flush. Lift and divide every second or third spring, which is what keeps a scabiosa flowering rather than declining.
Deadheading: This is the job that matters most with scabiosa. Pick spent flowers off at the base of the stem every few days through summer, and the plant will keep producing until autumn. Stop deadheading and flowering stops within a fortnight.
Fertilising: A balanced slow-release fertiliser in early spring supports the long flowering season, and a second light feed in December is worthwhile on poor soil. Avoid heavy nitrogen, which produces leaf at the expense of flowers and softens the plant against winter wet.
Watering: Water through the first summer to establish, then only during genuine dry spells. Scabiosa flowers better with a little moisture at the root through the peak of summer, but soggy soil at any time of year, and particularly in winter, is what kills it.
Pest Control: Aphids sometimes gather on flower buds and wash off with a jet of water. Slugs and snails take new spring growth on the crown. Bees work the flowers heavily, so avoid insecticide sprays while the plant is flowering.
Disease Management: Powdery mildew appears on crowded plants late in the season and is managed by dividing and spacing rather than spraying. Root rot in wet winter ground is the main risk, and sharp drainage is the only reliable prevention.
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