Dipsacus pilosus
(Small Teasel)
Family - Caprifoliaceae
Category - Biennial
Season of Interest - Summer, Autumn
Hardiness - H7
Height - 1.8m or more
Width - 1m
Location - The Cool Garden, The House Border
Description: An upright Biennial with toothed, oblong foliage and hairy stems. (Pilosus means covered in long, soft hairs.) Small globes of white tubular flowers with purple Anthers and stout spiny Bracts are produced on branched stems from midsummer into autumn. A prolific self-sower, but needs soil disturbance to germinate.
Additional common name - Shepherd's Rod
Flower:
Globular heads of small, white, tubular flowers each with purple anthers and a short spiny bract, are produced from midsummer into autumn.
Flower colour: White
Flower shape: Tubular flowers
Flowering time: July, August, September
Foliage:
Long, oblong leaves with Dentate margins often have a pair of ovate to rounded leaflets at the base. The leaves are mid-green and covered in soft woolly hairs. The leaves are also held in opposite pairs on the flowering stems.
Foliage Senescence: Deciduous
Foliage Shape: Oblong
Propagation:
Seed.
Cultivation:
Best in full sun to partial shade in moisture-retentive soil that is well-drained.