Stock (Gillyflower, Imperial Stock)
Matthiola incana. BRASSICACEAE (CRUCIFERAE).
Planting and Growing Stock
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow stock in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of stock
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for stock
- Season of bloom and planting time for stock
- When, how deep, and where to plant stock
- How to plant stock
- Watering, fertilizing, care, and pests or diseases of stock
- Landscape and container uses of stock
- Comments about stock and its features
Growing Stock
Many cultivars of erect, narrow, deciduous biennial or perennial herbs, to 30 in. (75 cm) tall. Alternate or opposite, smooth, blue or gray green, narrow, oval becoming lance-shaped leaves, to 4 in. (10 cm) long.
Common cultivars include Matthiola incana ‘Cinderella’, ‘Legacy’, ‘Mammoth’, and ‘Midget’.
Dwarf cultivars available.
See also Evening Stock, Matthiola longipetala, a closely related annual species.
Planting and Care Guide
Blooms
Showy, blue, cream, pink, purple, red, yellow, single- or double-petaled, fragrant flowers, to 1 in. (25 mm) wide, in tall spikes, in spring–summer, depending on cultivar.
Best Climates
Semi-hardy. Self-seeding. Plant as annual, zones 2–7; ground hardy, zones 8–9. Best in cool-summer climates.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained, sandy loam. Fertility: Rich–average. 6.5–7.5 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Spring, zones 2–7, after frost hazard has passed; autumn, zones 8–9, in full sun to partial shade, 1 ft. (30 cm) apart.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep moist; allow soil surface to dry between waterings. Avoid wetting foliage. Fertilize monthly. Stake or cage. Protect from wind. Propagate by seed.
About This Plant
Good choice for beds, borders, backgrounds, containers in cottage, meadow, shade gardens. Good for cutting. Pest and disease resistant.