Flossflower- this short lived perennial is a wonderful long blooming plant. Umbels of blue flowers rise to 20″ tall. Remove the first set of blooms and it will sprout vigorously from the sides, rows of flowers. Loved by butterflies and pollinators in general. This Mediterranean native has been raised as a cut flower forever, blooming continues to October if you remove spent flowers. They last in a vase for a week or more and deliver a light, sweet fragrance. Freezes to the ground below 20ºF, and is root hardy to about 10ºF. Typical lifespan for an individual plant is 3-5 years but it almost always guarantees seedlings which will sprout in adventitious places. Full sun to very light shade and rich soil with light consistent summer water. It may go very dry and recover from a deep soak. Very easy to grow plant for spectacular effects. Perennials borders, cutting gardens. Hummingbird manna. Forms arching clumps. A distant relative of Campanulas. Rich soil and regular water guarantees a much larger, bloomier plant that will have a longer lifespan.
