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PLANT ID – Scabiosa-like perennial

Hi all, two pics, one taken today and one in late summer. Almost identical to my scabiosa 'dark knight' but more of a woody perennial. Bought from Notcutts but I lost the label. Very long flowering period with masses of flowers, way more abundant than my scabious annuals. Bees love it. Absolutely beautiful plant and I want more. I've managed to wet propagate a handful.


Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Hard to see properly, but it could be Knautia macedonica

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,566
    It could be a dwarf form of Knautia like Mars Midget, but the flower colour looks too dark to me (the normal Knautia are taller and less tidy in habit). Or it could be one of the dark-flowered perennial scabious, maybe something like Chile Black or Black Knight.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    looking at the pic again, the leaves don't look right for Knautia - the leaves do look a lot more like a scabious

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • KayJKayJ Posts: 82
    Looks like my scabiosa Beaujolais Bonnets which I grew from seed..... :)
  • KayJ said:
    Looks like my scabiosa Beaujolais Bonnets which I grew from seed..... :)
    @KayJ. Was going to say Scabiosa Burgundy Beau. Mine were in an annual meadow mix but over-wintered to flower again this summer. Well worth ordering seed for a spring sowing.
  • Thanks for the replies. Sorry the pics aren't any more detailed. Yes, it must be some sort of scabiosa, but I didn't think they were woody or perennial. It looks like it's going into its third year. I actually grew Scabiosa 'Dark Knight' alongside this plant and, as I said, the flowers were indistinguishable, but the leaves of the latter were larger, and the flower stems were not bunched like the plant in question. Here's a pic of a 'Dark Knight' flower with a Silver-studded blue (I think) for colour reference. A real deep burgundy, works great with chocolate cosmos.

    A
  • Mine over wintered and it's possible they would have made a third year if I had not dug them up to make space for new planting. The lower half of an established plant does feel woody.
  • mathewdavidbrownmathewdavidbrown Posts: 39
    edited December 2020
    JennyJ said:
    It could be a dwarf form of Knautia like Mars Midget, but the flower colour looks too dark to me (the normal Knautia are taller and less tidy in habit). Or it could be one of the dark-flowered perennial scabious, maybe something like Chile Black or Black Knight.

    I've just read through the comments again and after some Google Imaging I'm certain it's 'Chile Black'. The name even rings a bell. Such a lovely plant.

    Thanks everyone, and a happy new year.
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