Onopordum acanthium

Scotch Thistle is not appropriate for small gardens, but makes an excellent feature plant if you have the space. It forms a rosette of enormous felty, spike covered leaves in its first year. In its second year, it grows to a towering seven foot high, blooms prolifically, and seeds freely.

Zones: 4 to 8

Family: Asteraceae

Type: Perennial

Height: 36 to 84 in.

Width: 36 to 48 in.

Exposure: full sun

Conditions: dry, average

Bloom Time: July to September

Bloom Color: purple

Native Range: Europe to Central Asia

We will not ship this plant to the following states: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming

Image Credits:

• Image 1 (bloom) H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
• Image 2 (foliage) Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
• Image 3 (form) Dellex, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
• Image 4 (blooms) CSIRO, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
• Image 5 (in garden) Gilles Clément, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons