Centaurea depressa
| Centaurea depressa | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Centaurea depressa
Propagation: Seed - sow April in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer.
The seed can also be sown as soon as it is ripe in the late summer in a greenhouse and planted out in the late spring.
Division in autumn. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer or following spring. This should be done at least once every three years in order to maintain the vigour of the plants.
Basal cuttings in spring. Harvest the shoots when they are about 10 - 15cm long with plenty of underground stem. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer.
Cultivation: Succeeds in ordinary garden soil[1][2]. Prefers a well-drained fertile soil and a sunny position[2]. Tolerates dry, low fertility and alkaline soils[2].
A very ornamental plant[1].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[3].
Range: W. Asia - Iran and the Caucasus. Naturalized in S.E. Europe[4].
Habitat: Fields and roadsides to 2300 metres in S. Europe[4].
Edibility: Root - cooked. An agreeable flavour[5][6].
Pollinators: Bees, flies, lepidoptera, self
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: C. pygmaea
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.