Sea Holly

Growth habit

Herbaceous

Perennation

Long-lived perennial

Location

North Walk

Source of plant

Big Dipper Farm

Description

‘Sapphire Blue’ is a sea holly cultivar that is noted for the steel blue coloration in the flowers, stems and foliage. It is a coarse, thistle-like, clump-forming plant which features basal rosettes of elliptic to oblong, cordate-based, serrate leaves (to 4” long) with smaller, spiny-lobed stem leaves. Leaves and stems are tinged with blue. Tiny, stemless, steel-blue flowers tightly packed into egg-shaped heads resembling thistles appear in profusion in summer in branched clusters at the top of stiff stems rising from the centers of the basal rosettes to 28” tall. Each flower head is subtended by a narrow, spiky collar of blue-green bracts (to 1” long).

USDA Hardiness Zone

5