Evening Scented Stocks

Matthiola longipetala. Spindly and insignificant by day, it is potently fragrant at dusk! Single, four-petalled flowers are a pale lilac. Best grown either in out-of-the-way spots or with Virginian Stock to combine their complimentary growing habits, colours, and fragrances. Shear back once for continuing scent from July until frost. Stocks prefer cool temperatures, but need full sun to perform well. Once the soil heats up in summer, plants tend to die back. Provide ample water, but very well drained soil. Sow Evening Scented stocks seeds on the surface of the soil. Many sources still use the previous Latin name for this plant, M. bicornis. If given some support, this branching plant will grow to 45cm (18") tall. If grown in containers, it will probably not grow upright.