Salmon Queen Sweet Scabious is a stunning heirloom flower that delivers vibrant salmon-pink blooms from summer through fall, reaching 30-36 inches tall over 112 days from seed to flower. This variety of Scabiosa atropurpurea thrives in full sun across zones 6-10, producing airy, pincushion-like flowers that deer consistently leave untouched and pollinators find irresistible. With moderate water needs and the ability to tolerate some drought once established, it's a low-fuss addition to cottage gardens, cutting gardens, or pollinator plantings.
Full Sun
Moderate
6-10
36in H x 18in W
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Moderate
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The salmon-pink blooms are delicate yet commanding, rising on tall stems that make them exceptional cut flowers with impressive vase life. Pollinators descend on these flowers throughout the long bloom window, from early summer into late fall, while deer mysteriously avoid them entirely. Starting from a surface sow, seeds sprout in just 5-15 days, rewarding patient gardeners with months of continuous color in a relatively compact footprint.
Salmon Queen Sweet Scabious excels as a cut flower, with tall stems and long-lasting blooms that brighten arrangements for weeks. It's equally valuable in the garden itself, where its airy flowers create textural contrast in mixed borders and its pollinator-attracting nature supports bees and other beneficial insects throughout the growing season.
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Start seeds indoors in pots 4-5 weeks before your last spring frost. Keep the soil at 65-70°F and cover with a sprinkling of vermiculite or a humidity dome to aid germination, which typically occurs within 5-15 days.
Harden off seedlings by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over 7-10 days before transplanting. Plant outside once the danger of frost has passed and soil has warmed, spacing plants 18 inches apart.
Direct sow seeds outdoors 2 weeks before your last spring frost. Surface sow or barely cover seeds with about 1/16 inch of soil.
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