Plant in sun or part shade with moderate to very little irrigation. Cold hardy to 20° F. A great little easy care mounding shrub with dark green almost plastic looking foliage. The flowers are a nectar source for butterflies.

Scabiosa farinosa comes from the hot mediterranean climate of northeaster Algeria into Tunisia in northern Africa. The name for the genus comes from the Latin word 'scabiosus' that means "mangy", "rough" or "itchy" in reference to the Scabiosa herb's traditional use to treat scabies, an illness that causes a severe itching sensation. The specific epithet means "mealy" or "powdery" but we are not sure how this name applies to this species as the foliage is glabrous and dark green. The genus was long included in the teasel family, the Dipsacaceae, but are now included as the subfamily Dipsacoideae within the large oneysuckle family, the Caprifoliaceae.

We first received this great plant from UCSB biology greenhouse manager John Bleck in 1988 and have been growing this charming plant ever since. 

The information displayed on this page about Scabiosa farinosa is based on the research we have conducted about it in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about this plant as it grows in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant have performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we have received from others and welcome hearing from anyone with information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information that will aid others to better grow it.