Blue Globe Thistle
Echinops ritro
(EK-in-ops) (RIH-tro)


Blue Globe Thistle is a sturdy perennial for the back of the border. From afar, the flower has wonderful symmetry and beautiful color. When you get up close to the flower, you can appreciate the structure and geometry of it. The flowers are good for cutting or dried arrangements. My experience with this plant has been one small patch that a client bought at a local plant sale. I planted it at the end of her driveway in a bed that is wedged between the road and a huge rock. Nothing else grew there but the Echinops has thrived. I finally got some pink and yellow Lantana to grow with it. If it were somewhere else, I would love to try some Liatris and Gaura or maybe a short Phlox. A couple of good-sized clumps along the back of a mixed border would look nice. I would probably have to mix them with some purple and white Coneflower. There is a dark red Clematis growing near my Globe Thistles, and two years ago the two intermingled and it was great. My subsequent efforts to do it again have failed.

Something about planting a Thistle made me a little nervous, but this has turned out very well. I have read this plant seeds a lot, but in several years I haven’t gotten any seedlings. My plants are growing in poor soil and off the irrigation system. They seem to be happy with that. This plant is very hardy and seems not to take too much care. I have noticed the bees and butterflies have been enjoying the flowers also.