California Gardens - The Year Round Gardening Site

Scabiosa farinosa - Dwarf Pincushion Flower

Scabiosa farinosa works well in areas that need a high impact plant. The dark green foliage stays dense and seems to flow like melting ice cream. The blue flowers can produce a wonderful display that lasts from mid Spring through the Summer. But the dead flowers take quite a lot of time to remove and look pretty awful if they are not. So I ration the use of this plant so I don't get buried in the removal of spent blossoms. Scabiosa farinosa grows a foot to 18" tall and up to 3 feet across. The foliage is brittle and does not take traffic at all. Scabiosa farinosa will look broken for a couple of months if wild school bus riders go rampaging. Scabiosa farinosa has been hardy into the low to mid teens in our gardens, and likely capable of withstanding more chill than we have seen. The Painted Lady, Gray Hairstreak, Variable Checkerspot Gulf Frittilary, White Checkered Skipper, and Western Tiger Swallowtail will drop by for a sip of nectar if they are around.

Scabiosa farinosa, Dwarf Pincushion Flower

Blue flowers and deep green foliage of Scabiosa farinosa - Dwarf Pincushion Flower. High resolution photos are part of our garden image collection.

The plants in the Scabiosa genus featured on this site:
Scabiosa atropurpurea Black Knight * Black Knight Pincushion Flower
Scabiosa atropurpurea Royal Ruby * Royal Ruby Pincushion Flower
Scabiosa caucasica Fama Deep Blue * Deep Blue Pincushion Flower
Scabiosa causasica Perfecta Blue * Perfecta Blue Pincushion Flower
Scabiosa columbaria Butterfly Blue * Butterfly Blue Pincushion Flower
Scabiosa columbaria Pink Mist * Pink Mist Pinchushion Flower
Scabisoa cretica * Balaeric Pincushion Flower
Scabiosa farinosa * Dwarf Pincushion Flower
Scabiosa ochroleuca * Yellow Pincushion Flower