Matthiola incana 'Appleblossom'
traditional field-grown column stocks (syn. Appleblossom Pink')
Sweetly scented, pale pink packed blooms, many of which will be fully double, on strong, single stems. A cottage garden staple, stocks have long been popular both for bedding and for providing cut flowers, ‘Appleblossom’ would also look stunning in a dark or metallic pot as part of a contemporary scheme. A hardy biennial when grown in summer for flowering early in the season of the following year, it is most commonly grown as an annual from a sowing in early spring.
How to care for Matthiola incana Appleblossom:
Keep watered during dry spells and apply a monthly, liquid, general-purpose fertiliser during the growing season. Pinch out the top as they grow to encourage branching and more flower spikes, cutting back the main stem once flowers have faded to encourage side shoots to bloom too.
Sowing instructions:
Fill trays with good quality compost and lightly cover the seeds. Water and grow on at 13-18°C. Prick out seedlings with a green/yellow colour and discard the dark green ones which will produce only single flowers. Pot on when they have put on their first true leaves and then harden off before planting out at 20-30cm intervals after the frosts have passed. Seeds sown in autumn and overwintered in a frost-free frame, will produce plants which will flower earlier in the year, than those sown in spring.
Flowering period:
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Eventual height:
0.75m
Eventual spread:
0.2m
Position:
Full sun
Rate of growth:
Fast-growing
Soil:
Moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil, or peat-free general purpose compost
Hardiness:
Borderline hardy (will need protection in winter in colder areas)
approx 100 seeds
£3.99
Seed Packets (only)£2.95
Named Day Delivery£10.95
