Guide to growing garden plants - Catananche (Blue Succory)
Although plants of the Catananche genus are hardy perennials they are often grown as hardy annuals by gardeners.
They reach heights of about 30 cm. They flower from late in the spring and into the summer carrying daisy like purple flowers. Other names for Catananche include Blue succory, Cupid's dart and Cupidone and Catananche caerulea.
How to grow Blue succory - Catananche
If you plan to grow Blue succory outdoors from seeds, then they should be sown onto a soil with good drainage, and then covered. This should take place before the last frost of spring. If you plan to start catananche seedlings off indoors then you should start them off about 8 weeks before they are due to be transplanted outside after the last frost of spring. Germination usually takes about 3 or 4 weeks and should be performed at a temperature of 18 to 24 degrees Celsius.
Caring for Catananche species in the garden
As Catananche are perennials they should be cut back in the autumn, however you may prefer to treat the plant as an annual as they are short lived. More seeds are easy to get as the plant selfs, alternatively you can take root cuttings towards the end of winter, or even divide the plant in the spring.