Cephalaria alpina

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Price:  £5.00 Notify me when this item is available Brand:  The Plantsman's Preference Family:  Caprifoliaceae Main Season:  Summer Flower Colour:  Yellow Leaf Colour:  Green Foliage:  Deciduous Position:  Sun Soil Type:  Ordinary, medium loam Height:  1.2m to 1.8m (4' to 6') Peat Free?  Yes Hardiness Guide:  RHS H7 minimum at least -20C Pot Size:  9cm Availability:      None available at present. View our Pot Size guide:

A big creamy yellow scabious that's more compact! Strong wiry upright, branching stems from rosettes of hairy leaves bear lovely pale yellow flowers to 1.8m. Insect heaven. Average soil in sun.

If you like Cephalaria gigantea but it's just too huge for you then this is the answer.  It has the same airy, wild elegance but at 1.8m it's a little more manageable!  An excellent mixer for naturalistic (prairie/meadow) style gardens or just mingling in a cottage garden.  Looks lovely growing through a carpet of lower (60-90cm) plants like Deschampsia cespitosa, Dianthus cruentus, Geraniums etc.

Just don't be fooled by the "alpina" bit of it's name - it's really not suitable for anything but the largest of rockeries!

A gently self-seeding shortlived perennial for ordinary soil in sun but it will take a little shade.