Knautia

Knautia Melton Pastels is an abundantly and long-blooming, undemanding perennial with which you can easily conjure up a piece of wild nature right behind your house. The original species has its roots in the Balkans, where it grows wildly in sun-drenched thickets and on dry meadows. In flowerbeds, it immediately draws attention with its slender, tall stems. In the Melton Pastels cultivar, from early summer until autumn, they carry a flood of small flowers in pastel pink and burgundy tones. A healthy seedling in a pot will arrive at your home. Once you transplant it in the sun or partial shade with well-drained soil, it will quickly reward you with vigorous growth. It stands out best when you plant about five plants per square meter, with a spacing of half a meter from each other. Care for knautia is completely undemanding; it playfully survives even severe frosts and does not require complex fertilizing. Because it grows up to a meter in height, we recommend providing it with unobtrusive support. Although it belongs among short-lived perennials, nature designed it so that it readily self-seeds without any problems. For lovers of floral decorations, this plant is a literal treasure. The stems are long and sturdy, so they look completely natural in vases and give bouquets a meadow touch. They also apply excellently in the creation of dried arrangements, bringing interesting structure to them. Although it is a strong plant suitable for beginners, a minor ailment can be powdery mildew or aphids, which you just need to catch in time.

Macedonian scabious is an abundantly and long-blooming, undemanding perennial that will bring the untamed charm of summer meadows to the garden. Its wild form originates from the sun-drenched Balkans, where it naturally grows on sunny hillsides and in warm thickets. You will receive from us a mature seedling in a pot, which just needs to be transplanted into well-drained loamy or sandy soil in the sun or partial shade. Here it will quickly take root and form a vigorous clump. The Red Knight cultivar enchants with slender stems up to ninety centimeters tall, which all summer from June to September carry a flood of dark burgundy to deep wine-red flowers. These edible flowers act as a huge attraction for bees, bumblebees, and other insects. The plant is an ideal choice for beginners because it reliably resists frosts down to minus twenty-eight degrees and does not suffer from any pests or diseases. Although it belongs to short-lived perennials, in a suitable place it gladly self-seeds. It will fit perfectly into naturalistically designed plantings with ornamental grasses and is popularly used in sweeping meadow bouquets. We recommend cutting the flowers fully open; they will then stay beautifully fresh in a vase for several days.