Eryngium x zabelii 'Big Blue' - SEA HOLY 'BIG BLUE' (ZABEL SEA HOLY)

Eye-catching upright perennial for drier or drained soils. Unique steel blue color flowers, bracts and stems.

Tap-root plant that doesn't transplant well, choose it's place wisely.

Blooming Time: June to August, with the peak in the first part of the season
Size: usually 2-3’ tall x 1.5’ wide
USDA Zones: 4/5 to 9
Culture: full sun, half sun, drained soils of any pH. Plants can rot in waterlogged soil – grows well in sandy, well draining and drier clay, gravelly, alkaline or shallow rocky soils. Too rich and moist soil (or combination of both) leads to flopping or sprawling
Moisture Needs: dry, medium-dry, medium. Drought tolerant.
Origin: originates as a result of a chance open pollination between an unnamed male and an unnamed female selection of E. x zabelii. E. x zabelii  is Eryngium x zabelii is a hybrid cross between E. alpinum (native to most of Europe and E. bourgatii (native to Mediterranean region on North Africa). 'Big Blue' was hybridized in a controlled outdoor nursery environment in Preston, Lancashire, United Kingdom in June of 1997. Plant is patended under U.S. Plant Patent PP20,636 (issued January 12, 2010).

Black walnut tolerant: no
Deer/Rabbit Resistant: yes / yes
Attracts Butterflies or Pollinators: attracts various bees and butterflies
Attracts Hummingbirds: no
Pot Size: 3.5" x 4" perennial pot

Plant combinations: Flower beds in sun, xeriscape, sand or gravel gardens, deer resistant plantings, naturalistic gardens, cut flower gardens. Good with Echinacea (especially with the narrow-leaved species and hybrids), Achillea, Agastache, Amsonia, summer blooming Allium, Asclepias tuberosa, Aster, Baptisia, Calamintha, Coreopsis, Dianthus, Gaura, Knautia, Liatris, Monarda bradburiana, Monarda fistulosa, Nepeta, Oenothera, Penstemons, Platycodon (taller ones), Rudbeckia, Salvia nemorosa hybrids, tall Sedum, Solidago, Stachys, Vernonia lettermannii, Veronica spicata and Veronica incana, Yucca, and grasses like Bouteloa, Muhlenbergia, Sporobolus, Schizachyrium scoparium, Sorghastrum or Panicum.

Picture copyright: Peter Korn