Verbascum Chaixii ‘Sixteen Candles’
$5.25
Upstanding candelabras of copious violet-eyed sunshine-hued flowers stage a truly incandescent spectacle. Perennial species of mullein. Blooms profusely on long flower stalks in mid- late summer.
Description
Perennial. Well-adapted to cottage gardens, gravel, and rock gardens, or even naturalized areas. Loves a dry very well drained sandy or rocky soil in the sun.
Great for winter winter sowing. Do not cover this tiny seed, just press lightly into the soil so there is good contact. Sow at any time, germination can sometimes be quicker if kept at 15 to 20 degrees C. I sow most seeds in an unheated greenhouse and wait for natural germination, as many seeds have built-in dormancy mechanisms, often waiting for natural spring germination.
Keep soil slightly moist but not wet. Germination 7-21 days. 60cm (24in) apart in full sun. Leave the rosette to develop for the first year.
Seed is extremely tiny – lots in a pkg to get you going!
Kat Granger –
I ordered both the sixteen candles and wedding candies when I moved to the Kootenays in BC five years ago. They are still going strong, with deadheading the spent flowers I can keep them from crowding out the weaker wildflowers and they have bloomed a second time going into October. The flower stocks are are lovely at the back of the border. They are amazingly drought tolerant, very wind tolerant, bug and elk resistant, and very attractive to pollinators. If you are trying to garden in a rocky, nearly desert area this a plant to try
Bonnie Whyte de Altman