Centaurea ruthenica seeds – (Russian Knapweed, Star Thistle)

Description

Picture thanks to Jelitto seeds https://www.jelitto.com

This  is a very rare plant from Russia and Romania. It  has long straight green 120 cm stems, with prominent dark green, pointed ferny foliage with grey undersides. Its flowers have fluffy thistle-style heads which are a  pale citron yellow with  very fine crinkled tissue buff-colored bracts . Very few fertile seeds are  collected.
The plant tolerates some drought, and likes well drained soil in a sunny position.  Foliage dies down in winter and reemerges in spring. It is a good plant for the mid to back border of a garden.

The flowers are excellent for cutting.

Sowing advice

Sow indoors. Sow 2mm deep into moist well-drained seed raising mix. Cover thinly with seed raising mix. Keep seed in constant moisture (not wet) with temperatures of about +20°C .  Approx germination time 7-14 days, but  germination can sometimes be quite slow and irregular. Keep in cooler conditions after germination occurs.  Transplant seedlings once large enough to handle to 8cm pots. Also can be sown direct into prepared, raked soil  30cm apart. Thin to 15cm spacing when large enough to handle.