Scabiosa caucasica ‘Fama Deep Blue’ seeds – (Blue Pincushion)

Description

Scabiosa Caucasica ‘Fama Deep Blue’ has lovely intense lilac-blue 10cm flowers which have a silvery grey centre, and are held above the foliage on long strong stems. The flowers are perfect to use as cut flowers, and they are reputed by florists to be the best Scabiosa strain for cutting. The plant grows in dense mounds of pointed grey green leaves.
It is very easy to grow, and is hardy to below -18°C  and will flower in its first year from an early sowing and if you plant the seeds under cover in spring, then they will bloom in summer for you.
Scabiosa bloom all summer long and will still be producing blooms well into autumn. Bees and butterflies love them
They prefer well-drained soil and a sunny position. They dislike cold, wet winters and hot, humid weather and do best in temperate conditions. In spring fertilise moderately. Don’t fertilise after Spring.
Scabiosa caucasica has long stems that initially produce one large flower. You can cut the dying flower stem back to the lowest buds, halfway down, and then two slightly shorter-stemmed flowers will spring from the bud axils. Deadheading encourages plants to flower for a prolonged period.  It flowers in the first year from seed.

Sowing advice

Sow in spring early summer, late summer and autumn.
Plant  seeds in pots or trays in moist seed raising mix. Sow 1.5mm deep. Cover seed lightly with vermiculite after sowing as they need light for germination.
Place the container in a propagator or seal in a plastic bag after sowing to keep the moisture constant. Place in a warm place to maintain an ideal temperature of around 18 to 21°C.
Keep the seed raising slightly damp but not wet. Avoid direct sunlight by shading seeds after sowing. Germinates in 2 to 3 weeks at 18 to 21°C.
Prick out seedlings when large enough to handle into 9 to 10cm pots after 4 weeks. Grow on at 10°C. Acclimatise young plants to outdoor conditions before planting out. Space the plants 30 to 60cm apart.