Stock ‘Buttercream’

Matthiola incana

Features

  • Easy to grow
  • Fragrant
  • One-hit wonder

Description

Also known in the trade as ‘Miracle Yellow’

Highly fragrant, with full, fluffy blooms, these prized plants thrive in cooler weather. With a soft buttercream color and a distinctive spicy scent, a few stems of these beauties make a big impact in both gardens and bouquets and fill the air with fragrance. Half of the plants will be single-flowered, the other half double, so plant twice as many as you need.

Details

Plant type: hardy annual
Height: 24 to 36 in
Site: full sun
Days to maturity: 90 to 100 days
Plant spacing: 6 in
Pinch: do not pinch

Seed Sowing & Growing Notes

Sow multiple seeds per cell indoors 6 weeks before last frost and transplant out while the weather is still cool. Can be succession-planted to stagger the harvest. Don’t pinch plants.

Harvesting/Vase Life

Harvest when half the florets on a stem are open. Change the water often to avoid a cabbage-y smell. Expect a vase life of 7 to 10 days.

Details

Description

Also known in the trade as ‘Miracle Yellow’

Highly fragrant, with full, fluffy blooms, these prized plants thrive in cooler weather. With a soft buttercream color and a distinctive spicy scent, a few stems of these beauties make a big impact in both gardens and bouquets and fill the air with fragrance. Half of the plants will be single-flowered, the other half double, so plant twice as many as you need.

Details

Plant type: hardy annual
Height: 24 to 36 in
Site: full sun
Days to maturity: 90 to 100 days
Plant spacing: 6 in
Pinch: do not pinch

Seed Sowing & Growing Notes

Sow multiple seeds per cell indoors 6 weeks before last frost and transplant out while the weather is still cool. Can be succession-planted to stagger the harvest. Don’t pinch plants.

Harvesting/Vase Life

Harvest when half the florets on a stem are open. Change the water often to avoid a cabbage-y smell. Expect a vase life of 7 to 10 days.

Sources

How to Grow

Seed-Saving Mini Course

Learn how to save seed from zinnia, dahlia, and celosia

In our upcoming free, three-part video series, you’ll learn everything you need to know to save seeds on a home scale, including how plants are pollinated and isolation techniques to ensure varieties come back true, how to tell when plants are ready to pick and how to harvest the seeds, and how to properly dry, clean, and store seeds long term.