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cephalaria gigantea
Margaret657
Posts: 1
I have had this in my herbaceous border for 5 years. I have loved the flowers and they have been admired by many but help. I now discover the "clumps" have grown and grown and taken over a huge area of my border. the "roots are very deep and very hard to dig out. I am on clay soil and worried that these are spread by underground tubers, rhizomes which easily break off. be warned. pretty flowers but very invasive after a time
0
Posts
The 'giant yellow-scabious' is a stunning perennial for the back of a large border . My own soil is quite a light but good loam ; this plants roots would pose problems on a clay soil .
I don't think it spreads by rhizomes , just very powerful roots ! Deep digging to extract them is the only alternative .
Think I may be answering a question here that you havn't even asked ,
; but your point regarding this species is entirely justified ; a warning worth heeding indeed .
Large established plants have large established roots ... but I wouldn't call that invasive.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Muddle-Up
Your garden looks very nice indeed ! Can't beat 'natural planting' .
The clue is in the name - gigantea. It isn't invasive particularly but it does increase the girth of its base every year - good for getting offsets if you lift and divide now and again - and produces lovely tall, airy stems of flowers. it also will self seed and have babies if happy. Mine did. Loved it and hust hope the seeds I saved for this new garden will be happy here.