Digging deeperPlant Library

Globe Thistle flowers

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Other Names:  Blue Globe Thistle

Ornamental Features

Globe Thistle features bold steel blue pincushion flowers at the ends of the stems from mid to late summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive spiny lobed leaves remain bluish-green in color with curious silver undersides throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Globe Thistle is an herbaceous perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other garden plants with finer foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Globe Thistle is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

Globe Thistle will grow to be about 30 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for poor, alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is native to parts of North America.