Everything You Wanted To Know About…
By “Ace Reporter” Felipe Bernal
SCABIOSA
Scabiosa, a native of southern Europe, is like a pincushion with flowers up to 3 inches in size and scores of yellow or white stamens. The original flowers had a sweet scent. Pincushion flower and mourning bride are two common names for scabiosa. Scabiosa can grow up to 21/2 feet tall; modern varieties are shorter. The many branched plants are topped with flowers in white, pink, lavender, and deepest maroon (almost black), from which the name “mourning bride” comes. Both double and single forms are found. The perennial Scabiosa species grow best in a deep, rich soil. This is not a plant for clay soils as the perennial Scabiosa species will die off during the winter. A lighter sandier soil with generous applications of compost will grow an excellent pincushion flower.
