• Eventual height: 0.9m
  • Eventual spread: 0.3m

Eryngium giganteum

Miss Willmott's ghost

5 year guarantee RHS award of garden merit Perfect for pollinators
9cm pot £9.99
RH30000154
£9.99
RH30000666
£29.97 £24.00
RH30007204
£59.94 £39.99
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  • Named Day £10.95

This perennial dies back to below ground level each year in autumn, then fresh new growth appears again in spring.

  • Position: full sun
  • Soil: dry, well-drained, poor to moderately fertile soil
  • Rate of growth: average
  • Flowering period: June to August
  • Hardiness: fully hardy

    Easily recognised by their ruff of spiky bracts surrounding a prominent, cone-like centre of tiny flowers, sea hollies make a bold statement in a sunny border or gravel garden. This variety is also known as 'Miss Willmott's Ghost', after the nineteenth-century gardener, Ellen Willmott, who liked to secretly scatter seeds of the plant in other people's gardens. The name could equally apply to the plant's appearance, with its ruff of large, prickly, steely-grey bracts that shine a ghostly silver in the sun. The marbled, heart-shaped foliage is attractive too, and shown off to best effect planted in gravel. Or try this eryngium in bold clumps among grasses. Eryngiums are also perfect for use in dried flower arrangements. This variety is biennial, but self-seeds freely.

  • Garden care: Once established, lift and divide large clumps in spring. Avoid the temptation to cut back the flower-heads in autumn as they provide interest in the winter garden. Cut down tired or tatty stems and foliage in early February, applying a thick mulch to the base of the plant to seal in moisture and feed the soil.

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