PlantFiles: Knautia
Knautia macedonica

I started this plant from seed 6-7 years ago and it has been part of my garden ever since. It's nice to add to a vase of flowers and people who see it are always asking what it is. The color is a nice dark burgundy and it has self-seeded readily (profusely!). I need to get back to just a few plants so I'm going to be digging up and disposing of dozens this coming Spring.

I am so looking forward to this plant in my garden for next year, I grew about 8 plants from seed the winter of o6’ and they stayed in a pot all year and the next winter, I planted three this spring and just fell in love with them the flowers they look like sugar is sprinkled on top of it, so lovely, it grows well in a pot from my experience, this will be the third year for it I hope it gets as big as everyone says it does!

This plant has caused some marital strife at our home. David likes it very much because it attracks lots and lots of butterflies. Sally dislikes it's spindly flopping, especially the center of the group. It comes back every year in great abundance. Peace is maintained by limiting the amout left standing each May.

has been happy in dry cottage-garden conditions and reseeded non-aggressively; one of the offspring has beautiful light purple flowers like a scabiosa, but there are no scabiosa or other likely hybrid partners, and the form is exactly the same as the crimson-flowered parent

I have had this plant for 3 years now, and it is one of the longest latest bloomers I have. It blooms right up until the snow starts to fall. Everyone who goes through my garden always remarks about it's striking dark red flowers. It does like to spread, but I have given it lots of room. I liked it so much that I am trying to "Mars Midget" variety in another bed.

I have had Knautia macedonica in my garden since 1998. The first year the original plant grew to over 7 feet. I moved it to the back of the garden where there was more shade and now it only grows to about 5 feet. It is ALWAYS upright and loaded with flowers. It readily self seeds and the seedlings are easily uprooted and planted elsewhere. I still have the orginal plant plus many more of its babies. My neighbour now has a plant that grows in complete shade and while it doesn't get as tall or bushy it is still loaded with flowers. We are in Halifax which is considered zone 5b but, I do have some zone six plants that survive if I protect them over the winters. This year I bought a new plant because the tag claims it is a light pink! ~Time will tell!

This is a very pretty flower. I planted 3 of these last year and they are back. Near them are some new growths that I am not sure are volunteers of the knautia or weeds.

So far, unlike the knautia that has both smooth and serrated (dandelion-like leaves), these have so far only the smooth leaves. I noted in other comments that people have not had success growing these from seed, so it seems unlikely that there would be volunteers.

This plant is floppy, but it's also a great weaver. It tolerates dryish shade and clay soil.

My knautia only survived a couple of winters in my garden on the cusp between zones 4 and 5. It was in bright sun, but quite exposed to wind and cold in the winter. However, I did like it while it lasted. The foliage has a crude appeal and the flowers were prolific. I had it surrounding a gazing ball and they made a nice pairing, with the large, bright, heavily incised foliage reflected in a mirrored globe.

Knautia blooms from late spring to fall, and it makes a great filler in the garden. The dark purplish-red flowers seem to go with anything, but they are especially nice in a wildflower setting with ornamental grasses. It self-sows prolifically, filling in spaces around other plants.

I really like this plant because it has a very long bloom time. The flowers are pretty and dainty. It also can get very big in width, so it is a good place to put in a garden that needs filling.

I am in the northern extremes of zone 4 and this plant has overwintered twice. We had a bad winter for perennials this past winter and this plant survived when other plants did not. The four plants were purchased in 4" pots. They grew so well that they needed to be separated this year. Despite this, they are now blooming. We are growing them in partial shade, alkaline, sandy well drained soil.

I have grown a number of knautia from seed, but have not beens satisfied with the results. The plant has a very untidy habit and a tendency to flop in all directions. After experimenting with them in various situations, I have now disposed of my plants.