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Asteraceae FAMILY

Echinops ritro

Echinops ritro

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Succeeds in a sunny position in any well drained soil of low or medium fertility[1]. Most species in this genus thrive in hot, dry soils[1]. Established plants are drought tolerant[2]. There are a number of named varieties, selected for their ornamental value[1]. The flowers are often used for dried flower displays[1]. If all the flowers are removed early in the season, the plant will often produce a second flush of bloom later in the summer[1].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a cold frame[3]. The seed usually germinates in 3 - 9 weeks at 25°c[4]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer. The seed can also be sown in an outdoor seedbed in mid spring and is then planted out into its permanent position in late summer or the autumn[3]. Division in autumn[3]. Root cuttings in the winter[1]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Echinops+ritro>

Pollinators

Insects, Lepidoptera

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]The Dry Garden. — Chatto. B. · Dent · 1982 · ISBN 0460045512 ↩︎A good list of drought resistant plants with details on how to grow them.
  3. [3]Popular Hardy Perennials. — Sanders. T. W. · Collingridge · 1926 · ISBN - ↩︎A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.
  4. [4]Focus on Plants. Volume 5. (formerly 'Growing from seed') — Bird. R. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1991 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Corydalis spp.
  5. [5]Flora of the USSR. — Komarov. V. L. · Israel Program for Scientific Translation · 1968 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN - ↩︎An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  6. [6]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  7. [7]KemperCentreForHomeGardeningPlantFinder — Missouri Botanical Garden · http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/ ↩︎Basic cultivation details, plant uses, habitat etc for several thousand species of plants, mainly from the temperate zone.
  8. [8]Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. — Yeung. Him-Che. · Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles · 1985 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent Chinese herbal giving information on over 500 species. Rather technical and probably best suited to the more accomplished user of herbs.
  9. [9]Phenolic Contents and Antioxidant Properties of Echinops ritro L. and E. Tournefortii Jaup. Et. Spach Extract — Çiğdem Aydın; Gülten Taşdelen Özcan; Murat Turan; Ramazan Ma · 2016 · http:// http://www.ijate.net/index.php/ijsm · ISBN 2148-6905 ↩︎