Eryngium x zabelii 'BIG BLUE'

Eryngium x zabelii 'BIG BLUE'
sea holly

SIZE/TYPE	mid-sized perennial
USUAL HEIGHT	0.4-0.6m
USUAL WIDTH	0.3-0.5m
LEAVES	deciduous broadleaf
COLOUR OF LEAVES	green
FLOWERS	showy
COLOUR OF FLOWERS	+multicolored:sky blue and violet
BLOOMING TIME	June - July
LOCATION	full sun
USDA zone (lowest)	5 (down to -29°C)
WINTER PROTECTION
FOR ZONE 5+6
FOR ZONE 7
BELONGS TO CATEGORIES	Perennials

Some plants, when you search for their web images, are so ridiculously manipulated when it comes to colours. As if they were not beautiful enough as they are. Big Blue sea holly is one of those which, owing to its deep steel blue flowers, always look fake in the photo but in fact are absolutely natural.

Big Blue is a hybrid sea holly, found as a chance seedling by Jeff Hodson from Preston, UK, in 1997. It makes 40-60 cm tall stems with prickly flower-heads decorated with narrow bracts at the bottom. They come out it June and take some time to gain the typical rich steel blue shade which remains over a long period without fading, almost 3 weeks. The variety is patented as PP20636 from 2010.

Sea hollies are ideal for drying and using in various decorations in autumn or winter. Cut them off when they are in the best colour and hang them upside down in a dark, warm place.

Sea holly needs free draining soil and full sun. It will thrive in poor, sandy loam, at the edge of a sunny perennial border, and will look great in a small container on a patio. Fertilizing is not necessary. Hardy to min. -29°C (USDA zone 5).

Last update 24-06-2018

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GLOSSARY

STANDARD QUALITY - Plants of this group are 1st class quality with number of branches and overall density adequate to their size and age, considering they were container grown.
DE LUXE QUALITY - This label guarantees a luxurious quality of manually selected plants that, compared to their height and age, are exceptionally dense and beautiful.
EXTRA - These plants are usually mature and bigger specimens with exceptional overall appearance.
STANDARD (as described in the plant form) means a tree with a trunk of 190-210 cm and a crown at the top, unless specified differently. The commercial size for trees is their girth measured in the height of 1m from ground.
HOBBY - These plants are of the same quality as our standard-quality plants but younger and therefore cheaper.
SHRUB - a woody plant with branches growing bushy from the ground level.
HALF-STANDARD or MINI-STANDARD - a small tree with shorter trunk, its size is usually specified.
FEATHERED - These are trees with branches growing already from the base of the trunk and up along the stem.
GRASSES and PERENNIALS - Sizes given usually read the diameter of the pot or the clump, as specified.