Scabiosa columbaria

Pincushion Flower
Scabiosa columbaria 'Butterfly Blue'
… for an evergreen, front-of-the-border perennial

Common name: Pincushion Flower

Latin Name: Scabiosa columbaria 'Butterfly Blue'

Design Tip: Makes a perfect blooming evergreen plant along the front of a border or in combination with mixed annuals, bulbs, and perennials. The delicate color melds with any palette.

Form: Grows as a compact mounding perennial.

Size: The hummock remains 6 to 8" tall, spreading 10 to 16" wide.

Flowers: 1½" lavender-blue blooms rise on leafless 10-12" stems.

Foliage: Basal growth of frilly ovate leaves form a tidy evergreen mound.

Grooming: Deadheading instigates a quicker re-bloom.

Propagation: Divide rootball in the cool seasons by cutting straight down through the root system with a serrated knife.

Cultivation: Excels in well-drained humus-rich soil and is especially susceptible to crown rot in winter without adequate drainage.

Light Exposure: Will grow in either full sun to part shade.

Hardiness: Is hardy from Zone 5-10.

Snippets: It is no secret – this one is a winner, and was credited as such when named the Perennial of the Year for 2000. The flowers are long-lasting in the border, as well as in bouquets. The common name of Pincushion Flower arose from its domed cushion bloom, struck with pinhead-shaped filaments. As is traditional in cultivar names applied for marketing, the 'Butterfly Blue' name should be read as lavender or lavender-blue.

There is also a pinkish mauve flowered variety sold as "pink". But the "butterfly" title is accurate, as they really do flock to the blooms. There was a winter-weary Admiral feeding on them in my Ft. Worth garden on Christmas Eve day. Generic-region sources state the S. columbaria blooms nonstop from spring to fall. In full sun and humus-rich soil, many of the two dozen plants in my Texas garden bloomed throughout the winter too, only pausing in brief icy spells.

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