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Scabiosa

Scabiosa atropurpurea
Also known as: Pincushion Flower, Sweet Scabious, Mournful Widow, Egyptian Rose

Scabiosa is a flower in the Caprifoliaceae family. It grows best in full sun with medium moisture, and is listed for USDA zones 2-13. Plants reach maturity about 81–115 days after planting and sit about 6 inches apart.

Varieties

3 from High Mowing & True Leaf Market · sorted by days to maturity
  • Deep Red81–109 days

    Great cut flower; 24-36" tall; Annual

    Elegant deep red to black blooms with highly contrasting white stigmas on long, slender stems. The varying coloration is gorgeous in the garden and provides a pop of color to floral arrangements. Excellent variety for cut flower production, withstanding handling and offering a long vase life

    Growing notes: We have selected these easy-to-grow flower varieties for their individual beauty, for the beneficial insects they attract, and/or suitability for cut flower production. By offering an assortment of hues, heights, growth habits and appearances, we strive to fill your flower needs, whether you are adding color to your home garden or selling bouquets for market. Our varieties are tried-and-true standards that are sure to perform well in a wide range of growing conditions. Many of these varieties are well suited for succession plantings to ensure a continuous harvest throughout the season. Days to maturity are from seeding. M=1,000.

    View on High Mowing
  • Dynamic Mix85–115 days

    Great cut flower; 24-36" tall; Annual

    Varying shades of red, blue, black, purple and pink pin cushion blooms on long, strong stems. An excellent blend for cut flower production, this dynamic array of colors is whimsical, and stems are exceptionally long and sturdy, withstanding handling without breakage. Great pollinator attractor

    Growing notes: We have selected these easy-to-grow flower varieties for their individual beauty, for the beneficial insects they attract, and/or suitability for cut flower production. By offering an assortment of hues, heights, growth habits and appearances, we strive to fill your flower needs, whether you are adding color to your home garden or selling bouquets for market. Our varieties are tried-and-true standards that are sure to perform well in a wide range of growing conditions. Many of these varieties are well suited for succession plantings to ensure a continuous harvest throughout the season. Days to maturity are from seeding. M=1,000.

    View on High Mowing
  • HiGro Mix90–100 days

    Non-GMO; Container; Annual

    Scabiosa atropurpurea HiGro Mix (also sold as QIS Mix) is an open-pollinated annual that produces tall, long-stemmed pincushion blooms in a blend of soft and saturated tones. Flowering heavily over a long season, it is prized as a cut flower and attracts bees and butterflies, making it well suited to borders, garden beds, and bouquets. Plants reach maturity in about 90-100 days from sowing.

    View on True Leaf Market
Family
Caprifoliaceae
Category
Flower
Form
Stalk
Lifecycle
annual
Zone
2-13
Height
1.5–3 ft
Spread
0.5–1 ft
Sun
Full sun

Plant spacing

4 plants per square footSquare-foot planting diagram: a 1-foot square divided into a 2-by-2 grid holding 4 scabiosa plants spaced 6 inches apart.
4 plants per square foot

In a square-foot bed, space scabiosa about 6 in apart — that fits 4 plants in each 1-foot square (2×2). Wider rows or containers space the same.

Water
Medium

Plan your scabiosa planting

Add scabiosa to a free GardenDraft plan and get sow, transplant, and harvest dates computed for your ZIP code — with a drag-and-drop bed layout and reminders when it’s time to plant.

Start your free plan →

At a glance

Days to harvest
81–115 days
From transplant or sow to first harvest
Harvest style
Keep picking
Crops over several weeks
After harvest
Use within days
Quality eases off after peak
Frost tolerance
Hardy · to ~15°F
Lowest temperature the foliage usually survives
Succession
Re-sow every 21 days
Sow again at this interval for a continuous harvest

Growing timeline

When to plant and harvest scabiosaPlanting timeline for scabiosa, relative to last frost: start indoors from 8 weeks before last frost to around last frost; grow from around last frost to 12 weeks after last frost; harvest from 12 weeks after last frost to 16 weeks after last frost.Start indoorsGrowHarvestLast frostTransplant
Start scabiosa indoors ~8 weeks before transplanting around last frost; first harvest 12 weeks after last frost.
Seed to transplant
42-56 days
Outdoor planting
0 to 14 days vs frost
Propagation
Seed
Schedule anchor
Last Frost

Care & troubleshooting

No curated care & troubleshooting advice for scabiosa yet. Our extension-sourced library currently focuses on common edible crops; we're expanding it over time.