PlantFiles: Globe Thistle
Echinops ritro

I put one of these in my original front flowerbed in 2003. I live in Zone 3a with fairly heavy clay soil. This year the monster is as tall as my daughter, who is 5'6" tall, and is a good four feet across. I've put a peony ring in for it, but it's not enough. I view this plant positively because it makes a dramatic statement in my yard and needs no attention. I'm going to dig up the babies and give them to my coworkers.

I'm really enjoying this plant. I started it from seed three or four years ago and now have two big, healthy, blooming plants (all I really have room for in my small yard). So far, it hasn't been invasive at all; but it's planted densely with some other large plants--knautia macedonica, catananche, etc.--so maybe it just can't get a toehold.

The globes are beautiful in the garden and in the vase, and they dry nicely, too, retaining their shape, texture, and color for a long time. I love that steely blue.

This is a wonderful texture plant. The foliage and flowers are both striking.
If starting seed in a seed-tray, choose one with really deep cells. The seedlings need a lot of root room to get started.

I love these flowers. The plant itself looks wicked, and most people mistake them for a vicious weed. When the flower is forming, it reminds me of a toy I had when I was little - Bristle Blocks. I have had a hard time transplanting them; it is easier to just plant some seeds, which readily germinate. My information says it is hardy in zones 2-9.

This plant is something different, sort of a texture plant. The leaves to flower ratio is probably high to grow just for flowers.

I planted it last year and haven't seen a bloom yet so we'll see this year. We're entering September and I'm still waiting!

A purple version of this plant grows wild in my area. It appears to grow under various conditions, Full Sun, Part Sun, & it seems to tolerate shade. Found on hillsides and upland meadows, but not around wet areas (near creeks/streams/runs). Also seems to be quite drought tolerant.

Freely self seeding, I do not consider it to be invasive, I just mow over them.

As a dried flower for use in arrangements, I love this flower, however, it will not grow for me - anywhere it seems - in my gardens. It's probably the fact that we have heavy clay soil that tends to stay moist, and wet in some areas - although all area's I tried this plant in were well drained.

I planted 3 plants in 1999, amended the soil in one of my gardens in back where the soil stays more on the average to moist side. With only average rainfall, they grew nicely and I was able to harvest lots of flowers. Two of them started to die back a little when the fall turned rainy. The following spring, only one came back - feebly, then died during the rains in early summer.

The following year I tried planting two more in another location that was drier, again with the same result. Finally, in 2003 I again purchased 1 plant and put it into a front garden that has well drained garden soil (trucked in) in which I grow many of the annuals I cut for drying. Again, it died out over the summer. So, I've given up on this plant and will buy a package of the globe thistles, 'cause they just don't want to grow for me!

I believe the problem here is our climate - Ithaca tends to get strings of cool rainy weather or rain followed by a number of sunless days. I think it's possible that were we to have a sunnier climate, this plant might have made it.

This plant took 2 years to bloom for me. I love it. I have 4 of them. And from what I have been reading, I will have more(to share).

One of my favorites for the back row! Fills in nicely, and I love those prickly blue balls in July. They actually are softer than they look. I love to just carefully feel of them too. The stems and leaves are prickly, but not painfully so like some of the wild thistles. It's not invasive here, 4b in sand.

This is an unusual color and structure, so it's a conversation piece. I loved it the first year. But, thereafter it became a royal pain. I am typically tolerate of "invasive" plants, but this one I ditched. It has so many blooms, and they become sharp, it's too much for me to deadhead thoroughly. It has long, thick, tough tap roots at least 3 times it's height. So, even 1-2" small babies are hard to uproot. Like dandelions, if you don't get the whole root, you've wasted your effort, it'll come back. It even thrives in the cracks of my cement driveway, and if left, will be impossible to get out (I don't use herbicides, but that may work). I've been trying 2 years to get rid of it.

I enjoy this plant very much. New gardeners love the blue globes and this one sends off enough babies that I share every spring. It gets about 3 1/2 ft. tall with no special care. Deadhead if you don't want babies. Mine is 5-6 yrs. old and is a clump close to 2 ft. wide now.