Globe Thistle

Just wanted to share an upclose picture of my globe thistle. It's so detailed and beautiful! Does anyone know how to get seeds from them and how to start them from seed?

Real nice shot of it.
Not sure about collecting the seeds, mine reseed some here - others have said they self seed a lot.

Just wait for the flower to die back, 'plenty' of seeds will be available.

Do you hold onto the seeds throughout the winter and plant them in the spring? I never know if you are suppose to plant them right off (nature's way?) or start them in the spring after the snow has melted...

I don't grow globe thistle (although it's on my wish list) but I do have lots of coneflowers. They can be cranky when trying to grow them from seed so I just leave a few flowers on the plant late in the summer and let them self seed. It's amazing how many healthy volunteers I get in the spring and I don't have to do a thing to get them! They are easy to dig up and move elsewhere while they are small.

Super photo.

Great photo.

Globe Thistle is on my wish list too. Nice photo!

Thanks for the tip Naturelover. I tend to cut most of my globe thistle for flower arrangements but I'll make a point this year to leave a few on the plant. I have some sea holly right next to the globe thistle and it's like a mini version of the globe thistle. I'll try to get a pic of that as the stems are blue and it looks really neat together.

I just noticed there are two bugs in the picture I posted...can anyone find them?

I believe there's at least 4 or 5 (top middle & bottom) ants and a larger green bug (at bottom).

really nice shot--did ya get that into PlantFiles?
=)

I could only see 3 bugs, but I'll look again. Good eye there jmorth!

I'm fairly new to Dave's Garden and not sure how to load onto plant files but will try to figure it out.

They are certainly a favorite of bumble bees. This wasp wasn't happy with this bumble and kept chasing it off.

That's funny! My DSD made me rescue a wasp from a spider last Wed. I wasn't to keen on the idea, let nature take it's course and don't get stung, but I finally gave in.

exceptional shot Al

That's a gorgeous picture bigcityal! I got the goosebumps looking at that wasp! Very crisp....almost too crisp!

Thank you.
I feel bad because I bought a new one this year(Arctic Glow) and killed it.

Winter sowing is the only way I've been sucessful growing these from seed.edge

Hey Zinniagirl,

I didn't know you were a globr thistle lover to? lol I have grown them from seeds via wintersowing. I had about 3 kinds (see trade list). Here a picture of my Veitch Blue cultivar.

from Jan 08 WS

I don't expect flowers till the 2nd or 3rd years since these are grown from seed

6-6-08 got it in the ground, looks like a weed lol

I love globe thistle, but they self sowed so well for me that I stopped growing them. Cutting off most of the seed heads would probably solve that problem.

susan

These are such valuable perennials. I haven't grown one for a while but love to see them in bold clumps in public gardens. They are magnets for insects.

Here's a group from Wallington Hall gardens.

Kniphofia: pretty, pretty, pretty. Got to get some of those!

I got one today! I'm so happy...

Rebecca 30 -
When you say winter sowing is that done from purchased seed or do you collect the seed from the globe heads once they are dry? And as far as winter sowing, I wonder what you mean by that. Since we have really snowy and cold winters here in Maine I would have to plant them inside in the winter unless I'm missing something.

I will check out the trade list. I'm fairly new to this site and haven't explored all the different options yet. I would love to get some different kinds of thistle. I think they look awesome in bouquets and wanted to try putting some on wreaths this year.

Thanks for sharing the pictures. It looks like you have sandy soil to work with and apparently they don't mind it!

If I can figure out how to harvest them I'd trade you for something. I'm not very picky not having much myself at the moment.

Zinniagirl- I wintersowed them from seeds I received from a trader here on DG. You can check out all about Winter Sowing in the Winter Sowing forum. It's very cool to grow seeds outside in the dead of winter. If you read on, you will see.

rebecca30

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/815465/

read the sticky at the very top to introduce yourself to winter sown seeds (WS)

enjoy

r30

This message was edited Aug 7, 2008 6:09 PM

rebecca30 - wow - thanks for the information. I didn't even realize that info was on this site. I appreciate it and now have something new to learn about AGAIN :)

Ok, I know there was a tread years ago on harvesting Globe Thistle seeds, it's why I fell in love with them, but can someone just tell me how so I don't have to go find it?

Here's a pic of the seed +chaff I recieved from a trader in the Netherlands. I was pointing to the actual seed itself. I don't know how it was harvested. sorry...

Here is the thread I was looking for http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/543303.