Centaurea moschata Splendens purple - seeds

The 'Splendens' Purple Musk Thistle is an annual centaurea with a long, pleasantly scented, deep pink-purple summer flowering. This variety, derived from the musk thistle, a wild species native to Iran, blooms for weeks in sunny flower beds, and will create adorable fresh or dried country bouquets. Like many annual plants, it is ideal for filling in empty spaces between other plants. It can be sown directly in place in spring or late summer. It is easy to grow in the sun, in ordinary but well-drained, moist to dry soil.

Originating from western Asia, specifically the Caucasus, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, Centaurea moschata (also known as Amberboa moschata) is not the most well-known of centaureas. This annual or biennial plant is also called Musk Thistle due to the aromatic compounds that resemble the scent of amber found in its flowers and seeds. It belongs to the asteraceae family, as evidenced by its flower heads.

The 'Splendens' Purple cultivar was selected for its deep pink flowers. This plant is 50 to 60 cm tall when in bloom and grows into an erect clump of slender leafy stems emerging from a basal rosette of leaves. The latter are grey-green, quite large, dissected, 10 to 25 cm long, with a toothed edge. The leaves of the stems are smaller, divided into linear segments with very toothed edges. Flowering occurs from July to September. The inflorescences in heads appear at the ends of the stems, resembling large, 5 to 8 cm wide pompoms. They arise from decorative scale-like buds and are composed of numerous fertile and sterile florets which are pale in the centre and deep pink on the edges. The gently scented, nectar-rich flowers attract many pollinating insects. This plant is hardy down to -12°C. Late summer sowing is possible in mild regions, producing earlier flowers in spring.

This musk thistle, once present in many cottage gardens, has been cultivated for over 350 years but has been neglected by today's gardeners. This medium-height plant is particularly well-suited for perennial borders and works well randomly sown among other plants. It is lovely in a flower meadow with other "wild" plants. In this case, centaureas, grasses, sainfoin, ornamental garlic, borage, motherwort, cornflowers, annual poppies, cosmos, and love-in-a-mist can be mixed. It can also be sown in flower pots and is an excellent cut flower, for fresh or dried bouquets, as it retains its beautiful colours once dried.