Perennial, robust, hardy and long-flowering - these are just a few of the positive qualities that make the Macedonian scabious a real hit among hobby gardeners.
The Macedonian scabious (Knautia macedonica) is a very flowering perennial species that, with its balloon-shaped red flowers, not only impresses with its beauty in every garden. It is just as popular with insects as it is with hobby gardeners and blooms bright red all summer long. It is an important nutritive plant for bees and butterflies, and birds and rodents sometimes use the plant when they are looking for food. The Macedonian scabious should not be missing in a butterfly garden.
The nice thing about the Macedonian scabious, besides the fact that it flowers for an extremely long time, is also the fact that despite all the cultivation, it has retained its wild flower status to some extent. You can see that from afar in the idiosyncratic beauty, which is ideal for stone beds, cottage gardens, Mediterranean garden areas and for classic beds.
| Macedonian scabious (Knautia macedonica) | |
|---|---|
| Growth: | upright, partly overhanging |
| Growth: | 60 - 100 cm |
| Growth: | 50 - 70 cm |
| Flowering: | June - September |
| Location: | Sun |
| Floor: | dry to fresh, well-drained |
The fact that they can also be combined very well with plants such as grasses, sedum, catnip or yarrow provides an excellent opportunity to bring variety into your own garden. In general, you can plant the Macedonian scabious with all plants that have the same requirements in terms of location and substrate. As in almost all other areas, the Knautia macedonica is also very easy to care for in this respect.
At this time the Macedonian Scabious blooms
The flowering period of the Macedonian scabious is from May to September. Depending on the right location, sufficientWith nutrient-rich soil and the right water supply, Macedonian scabious can actually flower continuously for up to five months, with one flower following the next. It is not even necessary to remove the faded shoots during the flowering period. For aesthetic reasons, however, it makes sense to regularly pull old flower remains from the perennial.
The perfect location for the Macedonian Scabious
The Macedonian scabious loves it when its blossoms are caressed by the rays of the summer sun. Heat doesn't bother her. In this respect, you should choose a location in full sun. This is the only way the perennial can develop to its full beauty. The more sun the Macedonian scabious gets, the longer the plant usually blooms. In the sunny summer months, it therefore blooms continuously for several months. Shade-giving trees or nearby buildings are therefore poison for the Macedonian scabious. Although it also thrives in places that are only in the sun for a few hours and otherwise in partial shade - here it does not reach as long a flowering period as in full sun.
The beauty of the Macedonian scabious comes into its own when you plant it in small groups of 3 to 4 plants in the perennial bed or stone bed. The distance between the individual plants should be around 60 cm, because the perennials reach a diameter of 50 to 70 cm, so that a dense sea of perennials quickly develops from the small group of plants.
The floor should be like this
The Macedonian scabious prefers dry but nutrient-rich soil with a high humus content. If the soil is too poor, it can make sense to fertilize the plant with some humus or an appropriate plant fertilizer from the outset when planting, in order to provide the necessary nutrients. As little as the Macedonian scabious is in terms of care, its demands on the nutrient content of the soil are just as high. The fact that one flower follows the next in the summer months draws a lot of nutrients and energy from the soil. As such, the soil in which you plan to plant your Macedonian scabious should have the following characteristics:
- dry
- nutrient rich
- permeable
- interspersed with lots of hummus
When is the best time to plant?
❍ outdoors:
As a rule, the Macedonian scabious is sown in spring. HoweverIf you decide to sow seeds in spring, you should note that the scabious genus is all cold-germinating plants. This means that you should put the seeds in the fridge for a few weeks before planting to simulate a winter period. This greatly increases the chances of the seed actually germinating after planting.
Alternatively, you can also sow the Macedonian Scabious in autumn. In this case, there is no need to store the seed in the fridge first. It just takes longer for the seed to take root. On the other hand, your perennials are already more mature in spring and in summer you have a chance to marvel at the first flowers.
The last option is sowing in late summer. Again, the seeds must be cooled in the refrigerator beforehand. The advantage of planting in late summer is that the roots are definitely strong enough by winter to survive a really cold winter. The scabious bud all the stronger in spring. The possible height of around one meter for the Macedonian scabious is reached relatively quickly.
❍ in the bucket:
Of course you can also keep the plant as a container plant on the patio. In this case, however, you should note that only spring sowing is possible. In addition, you must then make sure in winter that the bucket itself must not freeze through. The best place for potted plants to hibernate is a warm place directly against the wall of the house that still gets some sunlight during the day.
Planting Macedonian scabious - step by step instructions
When sowing the Macedonian scabious, you should follow the following steps, depending on the season you choose:
- Place the seeds in the fridge for several weeks to simulate a winter period (only if sowing in late summer or early spring).
- Draw a furrow about 3 cm deep.
- Place the seeds in the furrow about 60 cm apart.
- Only lightly cover the seed with substrate.
- Protect the young seedlings permanently from snail damage.
- Water regularly. The substrate must not dry out and there must be no waterlogging.
Caring for the Macedonian Scabious
In general, the Macedonian scabious is a very easy-care plant. It is not for nothing that it also thrives wonderfully in nature on the edges offields and simple humus-rich meadows and pastures.
Casting:
As already mentioned, Macedonian scabious do not have a problem with heat and dry soil if they have a sufficiently strong root system. But prolonged drought also weakens the plant noticeably. In the evening hours you should therefore water the perennials a little on dry days. In the first growth phase, directly after sowing, you should also make sure that the substrate never dries out completely. However, once the seed has germinated, normal rain or evening watering on particularly dry days will suffice.
It is important that there is no waterlogging, as this can cause lasting damage to the Macedonian scabious. If you find that when it rains heavily, water collects and doesn't drain properly, you should loosen the soil all around.
Pruning:
The Macedonian scabious is a very fast-growing perennial that shoots up every year. However, it can only do this if it is pruned properly in the spring. The necessary pruning of the Macedonian scabious must be carried out rigorously. All old and faded stems are cut off a few centimeters above the ground. The pruning should be done before the first shoots of the new plant shoot out of the ground. If you are a bit late with the cut, you must make sure that you do not cut off any fresh parts of the plant, as this will unnecessarily weaken the Macedonian scabious. Even after such a radical pruning, the Macedonian scabious reaches a height of up to 1 meter again by summer. If you want to properly prune the Macedonian scabious in your own garden and thus bring out its full splendor, you should heed the following tips:
- cut back before the first new shoots sprout
- Cut back all old shoots to about 10 cm above the ground
- Only use a sharp knife to make cuts during the flowering period
- Immediately after stepping back, enrich the soil with some humus
In general, a Macedonian scabious should never be pruned in autumn. The old shoots from the summer still store a residue of nutrients that become important for the plant in winter. Only in the first weeks of spring is it possible to cut back the Macedonian scabious.
By the way:
Because the Knautia macedonica several times in a rowblooms, it is also an excellent supplier of cut flowers. If you want to keep some of your cut flowers in the living room for as long as possible, you should make the cut with a sharp knife. A pair of scissors would only unnecessarily bruise the plant and injure it. You have to take the cut flowers out of the water every two days and shorten them a few centimetres. To maximize the area on the stem that can most easily absorb nutrients from the water, make the incision at a slight angle so that the flower tapers downwards. And the room temperature in the room where the vase with your Macedonian scabious is placed should remain constant at around 20 degrees Celsius.
Hiberation:
The Macedonian scabious is very hardy and extremely robust, even at double-digit minus temperatures. Nevertheless, it is good for the plants if you cover them with some brushwood or with the last cut grass before winter. This creates a warm blanket and once again provides the soil with additional energy and new nutrients before winter.
In cases where the Macedonian scabious is grown in a container, it is important to take some additional measures. A wind-protected place near the house is essential to protect the roots from the penetrating cold. You should also wrap the entire tub in linen bags to prevent the substrate from freezing.
Detect diseases and pests on the Macedonian scabious
The Macedonian scabious is not only extremely robust, it is avoided by fungal pathogens and harmful insects. If your Macedonian scabious appears sickly or stunted, this is usually not due to a disease or pest infestation of the plant, but to mistakes in care. Here are a few examples:
❍ Water and nutrient deficiencies:
A lack of water and nutrients is often reflected in pale and translucent foliage or rather stunted vegetation. In this case, you should urgently reach for the watering can again and provide the plant with enough water.
❍ Root Rot:
If there is a foul smell from the soil and the plant is generally rather poor in appearance, this is often due to root rot. This usually occurs when the plant has been exposed to waterlogging several times over a long period of time. In this case you shouldTransplant the Macedonian scabious immediately in a drier and, above all, more permeable soil. But even in such a case, you don't have to remove the rotten root parts, because the plant recovers from root rot quite quickly in dry soil.
If you want to cultivate the Macedonian scabious as a container plant, you should put a drainage layer in the container to ensure that the roots are not confronted with standing water in the container.
How to propagate Macedonian Scabious
The Macedonian scabious is very easy to propagate. Propagation can be done either by sowing the seeds or by dividing the roots of the Macedonian scabious.
❍ Propagation by seed:
The ripe seeds can be easily collected from the plant in autumn. If you want to sow seeds in autumn, you can do so immediately. Sowing can generally take place in late summer, autumn or spring. If you prefer to choose spring, you should definitely store the seeds in a cool place. In the case of sowing, you must observe the points already explained above.
❍ Propagation by root division:
If you want to propagate by dividing the roots, you have to completely dig up the perennial in late summer. Then cut the root into several equal pieces. Always use well cleaned and sharpened tools. Even if you divide the roots, you must ensure that the substrate does not dry out in the first two weeks and that the soil at the new planting site has sufficient nutrients.