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Toronto Botanical Garden

Our in-person meetings are held at the TBG.

Eryngium giganteum, Miss Willmott’s Ghost

Eryngium_giganteum_header_1.jpeg

Plant of the Month July 2025

This is a low-maintenance biennial from the Middle East. Legend has it that Miss Willmott, (Ellen Willmott, 1858-1934) loved the plant and surepticiuosly dropped seeds in appropriate places when she visited gardens. Another Giant Sea Holly, Eryngium pandanifolium, is native to South America.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Common Name: Miss Wilmots Ghost, Giant Sea Holly, Giant Ornamental Thistle Flower, Tall Eryngo.

Eryngium_giganteum.jpeg 

Eryngium giganteum, inflorescence.

Cultivars: ‘Silver Ghost’.

Life Cycle: Herbaceous biennial. Most Eryngium sp. are perennial.

Height: 60-100cm, about 100cm wide.

Bloom Time: June to August. 

Flower Colour & Size: Tight cone-shaped umbel of small greenish blue flowers with blue anthers, surrounded by silvery, spiky, palmately divided, 7cm bracts.

Eryngium_giganteum_bee.jpeg  

 Eryngium giganteum, with pollinator (Digger wasp, Sphex ichneumoneus).

Leaves: A basal evergreen rosette of 15cm long, heart shaped green leaves, forms during the first year. The leaves wither as the flower stalk appears

 Eryngium giganteum leaf

Eryngium giganteum leaf.

 Range: Native to Turkey, Caucuses, Iran.

Habitat: Tall grass prairies and dry, well-drained soils. 

CULTIVATION: 

Plant: in a suitable place when small. The tap-rooted plant resents disturbance.

Light: Full sun.

Soil: Most soils - prefers moist, well drained fertile soil.

Water: Medium. Drought tolerant.

USDA Hardiness: Zones 4-7.

Companion planting: Other sun loving perennials.

Problems: Nothing serious.

Eryngium_giganteum_seeds.jpeg 

Eryngium giganteum, maturing seed (fruit) heads.

Propagation: Will self-seed. Sow @ 20°C for 6 weeks, then 4°C for 6 weeks, slowly raise temperature to 10°C for 6 weeks. If there is no germination, repeat the cycle.

Eryngium_giganteum_seed_drop.jpeg 

Eryngium giganteum, seed dispersal.

Pollinators: Bees, butterflies, hover flies.

References:

https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder

https://onrockgarden.com/index.php/germination-guide

 

Text and images supplied by Anna Leggatt (Toronto Master Gardener)

Plant Focus Archives

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  • Aquilegia flabellata var. pumila
  • Arisaema franchetianum
  • Arisaema ringens
  • Arisaema sikokianum
  • Arisaema thunbergii ssp. urashima
  • Arum italicum ssp. italicum ‘Marmoratum’
  • Asclepias curassavica
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  • Astilboides tabularis
  • Athyrium niponicum var. pictum
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  • Berberis thunbergii 'Concorde'
  • Berkheya purpurea
  • Bukiniczia cabulica
  • Camassia leichtlinii
  • Camassia quamash
  • Campanula betulifolia
  • Caryopteris divaricata 'Snow Fairy'
  • Cephalanthus occidentalis
  • Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana Gracilis’
  • Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Snow'
  • Chrysogonum virginianum ‘Norman Singer’
  • Clematis alpina
  • Clematis columbiana v. tenuiloba
  • Clematis heracleifolia
  • Clematis mandshurica
  • Clematis terniflora (sweet autumn clematis)
  • Colchicum autumnale
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  • Cornus Mas - The Cornelian Cherry
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  • Corydalis solida
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  • Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora 'George Davison'
  • Crocus tommasinianus
  • Cymbalaria muralis
  • Daphne domini J.J. Halda (2001)
  • Daphne mezereum f. alba, a late winter delight
  • Delosperma congestum
  • Dictamnus albus
  • Diervilla lonicera
  • Digitalis lanata
  • Digitalis purpurea monstrosa
  • Dodecatheon pulchellum
  • Doronicum orientale ‘Finesse’
  • Draba korabensis
  • Edraianthus horvatii
  • Elsholtzia stauntonii
  • Eranthis hyemalis, the Winter Aconite
  • Eremurus stenophyllus
  • Erinus alpinus
  • Eryngium giganteum, Miss Willmott’s Ghost
  • Erythronium americanum
  • Filipendula ulmaria
  • Flueggea suffruticosa aka Securinega suffruticosa
  • Fothergilla x Intermedia ‘Blue Shadow’
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  • Galanthus (Snowdrops) Harbinger of Spring
  • Gentiana Angustifolia - the Blue Trumpet Gentian
  • Gentiana dahurica
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  • Globularia repens - creeping globe daisy, dwarf globe flower and Globularia nana
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  • Hamamelis x intermedia 'Arnold Promise'
  • Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’
  • Helianthus 'Lemon Queen'
  • Helleborus foetidus
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  • Heptacodium miconioides
  • Hibiscus syriacus ‘Diana’
  • Hornungia alpina ‘Icecube’
  • Hyacinthoides hispanica
  • Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snowflake’
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  • Incarvillea mairei
  • Ipomopsis rubra
  • Iris ‘Katharine Hodgkin’
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  • Penstemon procerus
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  • Phlox stolonifera
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  • Pinus contorta var. latifolia ‘Chief Joseph’
  • Primula denticulata
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  • Sanguisorba canadensis
  • Sanguisorba tenuifolia v. alba
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  • Scopolia carniolica var. brevifolia
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  • Viola pedata
  • Weigela ‘Florida Variegata’
  • Wisteria sinensis 'Prolific'
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