Not the plant you're looking for? Search over 300,000 plants

Annual Biennial

Carduus nutans

musk thistle

An upright biennial, with downy stalks, green, divided spiny foliage and spiny bracts. Large, purple, drooping flower heads appear from June to August and are around 3-5cm across. Flowers have no ray florets and the heads are surrounded by a collar of pink flower bracts

Other common names

buck thistle
dog thistle
see morebank thistle

Save to My plants

Buy this plant

Plant nurseries
2 suppliers

Ultimate height

0.5–1 metres

Time to ultimate height

1 year

Ultimate spread

0.5–1 metres

Chalk

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Well–drained

pH

Alkaline, Neutral

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Full sun

Aspect

South–facing or West–facing

Exposure

Sheltered

Hardiness
Hardiness ratings
All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets
H1a: under glass all year (>15C)
H1b: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1c: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

Botanical details

Family: Asteraceae
Native to the UK: Yes
Foliage: Semi evergreen
Habit: Bushy
Genus: A genus of annual or biennial flowering plants known as 'plumeless thistles', native to Eurasia and Africa, many recognised as a nuisance to agricultural and horticultural crops. They have hairy, spiny upright stems and toothed. lobed foliage topped with rounded, bristly heads in white, pink or purple
Name status: Correct
Plant range: Eurasia

How to grow

Cultivation

Occurs naturally in dry, grassy places including verges and dunes, especially on calcareous soils

Propagation

Propagate by seed

Suggested planting locations and garden types

Wildlife gardens
Wildflower meadow

Pruning

No pruning required

Pests

Generally pest-free

Diseases

Generally disease-free

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.