Eryngium 'Big Blue'
The Highlights
- This spectacularly spiky sea holly brings so much coastal charm to your garden, you'll almost smell the salt air. Bright blue thimble-shaped flower heads are circled by a ruff of spiky, silvery-blue bracts, on branched stems rising from shimmering green foliage
- Flowers throughout July and August
- A hardy, low-maintenance perennial plant with excellent drought resistance
- Plant in pots of borders in a sunny spot - these also make stunning cut flowers
- Bees can't keep away from Eryngiums, so they're great for attracting pollinators to your garden
- Winner of the RHS Award of Garden Merit - deservedly so
The Highlights
- This spectacularly spiky sea holly brings so much coastal charm to your garden, you'll almost smell the salt air. Bright blue thimble-shaped flower heads are circled by a ruff of spiky, silvery-blue bracts, on branched stems rising from shimmering green foliage
- Flowers throughout July and August
- A hardy, low-maintenance perennial plant with excellent drought resistance
- Plant in pots of borders in a sunny spot - these also make stunning cut flowers
- Bees can't keep away from Eryngiums, so they're great for attracting pollinators to your garden
- Winner of the RHS Award of Garden Merit - deservedly so
Care Guide
Good pest and disease resistance
Generally unaffected by pests, but may rarely be affected by leaf and bud eelworms. These stunt the plant's growth and make yellow/brown/black blotches on the leaves. To treat, remove dead leaves and soak the plant in hot water while it is dormant - this will kill the worms. To prevent downy mildew, space the plants adequately to prevent overcrowding and tight, humid conditions. Water at the base into the soil, not on the leaves, and try to prevent the water splashing off the soil and onto the leaves.
Water regularly in summer
This plant needs nothing more than rain water throughout most of the year. During hot, prolonged dry periods in summer however, you may have to give the plant a good watering several times a week. If the plant starts to look distressed and the soil around it is very dry, then give the plant some more water and check up on it the next day.
Full sun
Eryngium needs a sunny spot with around 6-8 hours of sunlight per day
Any fertile, well-drained soil
Plant in any fertile, well-drained soil. If your soil is particularly poor or clay heavy, add some garden compost with perlite to improve drainage.
Feeding not required
This is a low maintenance plant which gets all the nutrients it needs from the soil. ?v=1613300718
For more care tips and ideas visit our Knowledge page
Planting Calendar
- Best time to plant
- Harvest
- Flower