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Malcolmia maritima

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Virginia stock
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Brassicales
Family: Brassicaceae
Genus: Malcolmia
Species:
M. maritima
Binomial name
Malcolmia maritima
(L.) Ait. f.

Malcolmia maritima, also known by its common name Virginia stock, is a popular annual garden plant from the family Brassicaceae. A beautiful and profusely flowering annual, it is probably one of the easiest of all plants to grow.[citation needed] Growing to about 6–12 inches (15–30 centimetres) tall, it makes a mass of pink, purple and white fragrant four petalled (cruciform) flowers. It is native in Greece and Albania and may be naturalized elsewhere in Mediterranean Europe[1] where it occurs in maritime sandy habitats and in waste places.

Cultivation

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For best results in growing Virginia stock, sow on the surface in patches or rows and thin the young plants to 6 inches apart. It prefers full to partial sun and well drained soils.[2]

Varieties

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There is a fair amount of variation in cultivated material, particularly with regard to stature and flower colour (variously violet, purple, lavender, pink).

References

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  1. ^ Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964–1980. Flora europaea
  2. ^ Huxley, A. (ed.) 1992. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening
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