Scabiosa, Pincushion Flower 'Pink Mist'

I grow in Zone 6 in heavy clay soils (amended as necessary) in a city prone to lots of rain and very infrequent drought. This year, the f...Read Moreirst year of planting, we have had rain nearly every weekday for several weeks solid. I bought "Pink Mist" to grow in my pink and red garden. It was the first of my new plants to bloom, and it has been blooming profusely and reliably for weeks now. I deadhead it a lot to keep the blooms fresh, and sometimes it does get to be a nuisance because of the sheer number of blooms (but who could really complain about too many flowers).

I have found its habit to be rather wild and quirky, whereas many of my other plants tend toward neater mounds or clusters. The butterflies love it. I can't get butterflies to visit any of my other "butterfly favorite" flowers yet, but they came to the first blooms here right away. The color represented in the pictures on this page are pretty much true to my experience--somewhere between pink and purple. It's pretty, but not as pink as I had hoped for. It does not seem to mind the excessive amount of rain we've been having (and, mind you, it is in water-retentive clay soil), as the other newly planted flowers nearby have appeared water-stressed.

My main concern for this flower is reflected in my attempt to regrow its brother, "Butterfly Blue." I planted that last year, and it never came back. We did have a cold winter here, but it should have been hardy. I will reserve a neutral rating just based on my previous experience with pincushions. It is pretty, it did grow very quickly, and it is a profuse bloomer, but so was Butterfly Blue, so I will reserve my jubilation for next spring.

I grow 'Pink Mist' and 'Butterfly Blue'. I would say calling it pink is a stretch! It seems more mauve-lavender-sort-of-pinkish to me. If...Read More you see the two colors at a distance, they appear the same. The pink doesn't seem to go with any other shades of pink in the garden but works well with the lavender tones.

Still a good plant.

Mine got into the curious habit of blooming only in the early spring, while it was still cold, or in the fall after the first frost. It w...Read Moreas in too heavy shade and diminished until it didn't come back at all. But it was nice while it lasted.

Two year old plant. Got this at Lowe's in 2005 in a gallon pot. Love it! Try to keep it deadheaded for more flowers.