Matthiola incana
Stock
Common names: Common Stock, Garden Stock, Summer Stock, Gillyflower
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Pot size
- from 5 l
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Flowering
- Jun–Sep
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below −3 °C
- Water need
- Medium
Photo: CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Matthiola incana, known in German as Levkoje, grows wild on coasts and rocky slopes around the Mediterranean and has long been a classic of cottage gardens. As an annual summer flower it reaches 40 to 70 cm in height. Its grey-green leaves are finely hairy. From June to September it bears dense flower spikes in white, pink, red, violet, yellow, or cream, either double or single. The flowers open gradually from the bottom of the spike upward. It has a strong, clove-like fragrance that makes it a popular scented flower. It is planted in beds and borders, cottage gardens, containers, and beside seating areas where its scent can be enjoyed, and it is cut for vases. This refers to the annual summer stock, which is sown anew each spring.
Care instructions
Place the stock in a sunny, wind-sheltered spot where the soil is rich in nutrients and well drained. Pre-grown plants can go into the bed from late April, and they tolerate light frost. Allow about 25 cm of spacing. Water regularly and keep the soil evenly moist, without waterlogging. A thin layer of mulch helps. As a member of the cabbage family, it attracts flea beetles, which chew small holes in the leaves, especially in dry weather. Keep young plants moist and, if needed, protect them with a crop protection net. Do not plant it where cabbage or radishes grew the previous year, as clubroot can take hold. Support tall varieties with a stake in windy conditions. Remove spent flowers regularly so the plant stays in bloom longer.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingMar–May
FloweringJun–Sep
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 12 °C, ideally 20 °C
- Days to sprout
- 7 to 14 days
- Light
- Needs light to sprout
- Sowing depth
- 0.5 cm
- How to start
- Start indoors, then plant out
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
well-drained, humus-rich, loamy, nutrient-rich
Stocks like medium-heavy, free-draining, nutrient-rich soil that is neutral to slightly calcareous. Humus-rich, fresh garden soil with a little mature compost is ideal. On acidic, exhausted sandy soil they struggle, and on heavy, wet clay the roots rot. Loosen heavy soils with sand and compost. In a container, use good-quality potting compost and ensure good drainage.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
May–Jul
The stock is a moderate feeder. Work mature compost into the soil when planting. In June and July you can top up once a month with diluted nettle feed; in a container, give liquid fertiliser for flowering plants every two weeks. Too much nitrogen makes the plants soft and susceptible. On well-supplied garden soils you hardly need to feed any more.
Overwintering
The summer stock is an annual and dies in autumn. It survives light frost, but is killed by severe frost. After flowering, you clear the plants away. Double flowers hardly set any seed, so it is best to buy fresh seed every year. Biennial winter stocks are a crop of their own: they are sown in summer, need protection in winter and are not meant here.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
Sow stocks indoors from March in shallow trays. Only press the seeds in and cover them with at most a wafer-thin layer of soil. At 16 to 18 °C they germinate after one to two weeks. Then prick out the seedlings about 5 cm apart. If you want double flowers, select already at the seedling stage: plants with pale foliage usually produce double flowers, those with dark foliage single ones. From mid-April you can also sow directly in the bed; the plants then flower later.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
legume family (Fabaceae)
particularly well establishedLeguminous plants collect nitrogen in the soil, from which Brassicaceae benefit as heavy feeders.
For example PeaBush beanPole beanBroad beanSnow peaWrinkled pea and 36 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
carrot family (Apiaceae)
You can pair celery and dill with all Brassicaceae because they repel the cabbage whitefly with their scent, a proven companion.
For example CarrotCeleriacDillParsleyFlorence fennelCoriander and 21 more species in the catalogue
Source: Bio-Gärtnerei Mixed-culture Practice
mint family (Lamiaceae)
You will notice that the intense scent of basil, thyme, and others confuses the cabbage whitefly and keeps it away from the cabbage family.
For example LavenderThymeBasilRosemarySageHyssop and 43 more species in the catalogue
Source: bio-gardening intercropping practice
nasturtium family (Tropaeolaceae)
Nasturtium serves as a trap plant for you. Aphids and cabbage whiteflies prefer it over the brassicaceae next to it.
For example NasturtiumMashua
Source: Trap plant practice in organic horticulture
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Stock yourself
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