native grown for its magnificent bold
foliage and its drooping sprays of
delicate yellow late-season flowers.
Pamper this exquisite perennial with a
choice woodsy site. It relishes a
well-drained, moderately acidic soil
that’s enriched with a generous
helping of leaf mold or compost.
Provide at least afternoon shade. Bait
for slugs and snails in spring if they
are a problem in your area and protect
plants from deer. Staking shouldn’t be
necessary. Yellow wax bells is a slow
but steady grower that seldom needs
division, but if you’d like to split
established clumps, early spring is the
time to do it; use the double-fork
method if you’re unable to pry pieces
apart with your hands. Sometimes this
species fails to open its flowers all the
way. This is no cause for alarm, and
even in perpetual bud the blossoms
are lovely.
related plantS Kirengeshoma
koreana, Korean wax bells, is very
similar to K. palmata, but its blossoms
are carried on erect flowering stems
and are less droopy than those of K.
palmata.Knautia macedonica
crimson scabious
caprifoliaceae
Deep crimson to pale pink pincushion
flowers on wiry stems; lobed foliage, mostly
basal
Blooms June–October
1 1/2–3 ft. high; 2 ft. wide
Full sun
Zones 5–9
pruning This old-fashioned cottage
garden flower is valued for its unusual
deep wine-red coloration and its
exceptionally long bloom time.
Crimson scabious typically flowers for
5 months of the year; in mild climates
it may offer 6 or 7 months of color.
Deadheading stimulates maximum
flower power, but pruning spent
blossoms is tricky, because the wiry
stems—which often become entan-
gled with each other—carry a mix of
buds, blooms, and seedheads. A quick
fix is to cut all stems down to basalgrowth when the first flush of blooms
winds down (usually in July), although
doing so eliminates all flowers until
the plant can recover and deprives
songbirds of a favored seed source. A
better method is to prune more
frequently but less drastically, cutting
only those stems whose flowers have
mostly expired and leaving behind
some blossoms and birdseed. When
flower production finally shuts down
for the year, plants may be left
standing for migrating and winter
resident birds to continue to pick at, or
they may be cut back for a neater
winter appearance. If you choose the
tidier option, don’t cut plants clear to
the ground, as cutting into the basal
foliage may compromise winter
hardiness. Instead, leave a low mound
of basal leaves and do any final tidying
in spring. Basal leaves are semi-
evergreen where winters are mild.
other maintenance Crimson
scabious is ideally suited to sunny sites
in well-drained soils of average
fertility. It doesn’t fare well in hot,
humid climates. Normally short-lived
wherever it’s grown, it keeps a
foothold in the garden by self-sowing.Knautia macedonica