Eryngiums – A Comparison

This plant is the Mexican representative of a related group of Sea Hollies, all of which have long spine-edged strap-like leaves. (The related South American species include E. agavifolium, E.bromeliiflorum and E.eburneum.) When well grown in a sunny, fertile site it will grow up to 80cm tall with large heads which are quite distinctive. The central pincushion of true flowers can be quite broad and somewhat flattened in typical shades of blue whilst the surrounding bracts are silvery white and relatively undivided, clustered around the center like a fence of out-turned knives. An ideal species for drying.

As its name suggests, Eryngium bourgatti Grahan Stuart Thomas’s selection is the excellent form selected by the renowned plantsman, Graham Stuart Thomas; Recommendaton enough for most people. It really is quite distinct from the species, being a good deal shorter than the type, stiffer in its growth with much richer colouring. The bracts are longer and thinner too. Overall the whole feel of the plant is neater, finer and richer in texture than the species. A real stunner.

Flowers: 9cm. Bracts with more teeth/spikes.

Leaves: Highly divided and ‘humped’ in shape. Spiny with very white leaf centres.

Eryngium bourgatii . Rosettes of deeply cut crisp, curly grey-green leaves with silver veins make a notable feature all on their own. The clump gives rise to branching spikes of blue-green thistles with blue spiky bracts that begin silver. A beautiful plant all year 60cm (2ft) high which needs well drained soil in full sun. Great for the bees

Flowers: 8cm. Unbranched bracts

Leaves: Less spiny than GST, flatter with only highlights of white.

An exceptional sea holly adorned in mid-late summer with large collared heads of brilliant steely blue, further enhanced by the beautiful blue hue of the stems. 60cm. Sun and good drainage. Much loved by bees. Eryngium x oliverianum is a wild hybrid, possibly from E.alpinum but of uncertain parentage. The exquisite ruff is beautifully divided and of a brilliant blue. William Robinson said ‘The stems are so singularly beautiful with their vivid steel-blue tints …. with the involucre even more brilliant, that the effect is hardly excelled.’. Along with the hybrids under E. x zabellii they form the cream of the eryngiums. 60cm, May to August

Eryngium x zabelii (Eryngium bourgatii x Eryngium alpinum). A beautiful hybrid between E. alpinum and E. bourgatii. 60-75cm (2-2.5ft) high with large silvery / steely blue collars, attractively cut but less frilly than in E. alpinum. This gorgeous hybrid is more vigorous and easier and longer lived than either of its parents. The flowers, which are loved by bees, start more silver and intensify their blue colouration as they age. They are produced July-August and dry really well.

Flowers: up to 16cm. 14 long blue divided bracts with more in the background. the biggest and bluest. Cone petals white, giving a pale hue to the cone

Leaves: Grey green with prominent white veining. Large

This is really a very fine Sea Holly indeed in more than one sense of the word. Eryngium ‘Pen Blue’ is in the x zabelii family with sea-green tripartite leaves. The flowers are borne on 60cm violet stems and are a picture of beauty. The collar is particularly wide in comparison to the central cone and its segments, radiating like the spokes of the devil’s chariot are narrow, spiky and a striking electric Blue. Further adding to the effect, the flowers are beautifully arranged and composed with the secondary flowers slightly smaller and held a little lower. Altogether a class act and a magnet for the bees.

Flowers: 12cm. Very Finely divided. Violet and French Navy with a relatively small narrow cone.

Leaves: Small and very divided. Dull green

Eryngium x zabelii ‘Jos Eijking’ is a Dutch hybrid and one of the best of the crosses made between E.alpinum and E.bourgatii. It is vigorous in growth and has large long-lasting heads of a bright metallic blue. Likes a position in full sun in not too rich a soil and not too wet. 75cm

Flowers : Collar elements scabbard shaped with spikes. 10cm

Leaves: Like Violetta – sage green with less prominent veining, intermediate size

A lovely cross between E.alpinum and E.bourgati. This form has particularly richly coloured bracts which are very long lasting. It is vigorous in growth and has large long-lasting heads of a bright metallic blue. Likes a position in full sun in not too rich a soil and not too wet. 75cm

Flowers : 12 bracts with longer secondary segments making it impressive and full. Definite violet blush. 12cm with bright blue cone

Leaves: Sage green with less prominent veining. Bronzey hue to the edge of the leaf

Flowering stems branch and branch until they form wide heads of silver white cones surrounded by large silver bracts. Eryngium giganteum – Miss Willmott’s Ghost is a marvelous architectural plant and an eerie presence in the half light. This plant can behave as a biennial or short lived perennial dependent on situation and how well it grow in its first year. Whichever it will usually seed itself around to provide replacements. 60cm tall, Summer.

This plant earned itself it’s common name ‘Miss Willmotts Ghost from the habit of Ellen Willmott – a spiky character herself – carrying seeds of this plant in her pocket and sprinkling them in gardens she visited. In this way she silently left a trail of the plant in her wake.

Eryngium giganteum ‘Silver Ghost’ is a  new form of Miss Willmotts Ghost. It was discovered in the wild near Trabzon in Turkey in 1982 by Martyn Rix, Jimmy Smart and Dick and Ros Banks. ‘Silver Ghost’ has flowers that are large with bracts that are narrower and more spiny than the species. In some ways a little more like a zabelii type. The leaves are also distinctive, being narrower with a wavier edge. moreover, it reputedly has the further advantage of being more persistent and less reliably biennial than the species.

Eryngium planum ‘Jade Frost’ has lovely pink flushed foliage has a crinkled cream edge which combines beautifully with the slightly grey green of the leaf as it matures. Evergreen. Flowers are typical of Eryngium planum and start a ghostly white, ever so slowly turning a good deep amethyst. The whole plant is relatively short at 40cm

Eryngium planum ‘Blue Glitter’ is a richly branched eryngium with 80cm high strong stems carrying a multitude of deep blue, cone-shaped flowers with brilliant deep-blue spiky collars. Even the ‘trunk’ and the stems are coloured metallic blue. Absolute magnet for insects. Juy-September. ( former winner of the Fleuro-select Award )

(Eryngium descaisneum) If you are looking for a real talking point then this is the one for you. Eryngium pandanifolium ‘Physic Purple’ is bold, architectural and takes no prisoners. The foliage is a narrow 2cm wide and can be 1.5m long, evenly spiky all along its edge. It forms a dense grassy fountain, from the centre of which rises the star of the show. The flowering spike can rise 2.5m high or more, branched all the way up like a small tree to form a cylindrical cage of small deep maroon cones. Quite the show-stopper. The species grows naturally in South America, being found in marshes and wet fields. 2-4m. Hardy to -10C . Has a reputation for being less hardy but should be OK if grown in sun and not left to sit too wet in winter.