Garden and Flowers

PURPLE TOADFLAX

The stems of this Italian toadflax grow stiffly upright, sometimes to over 39 in tall, with small violet-colored flowers at the top. The perennials are on sale, in flower, in spring, but it is also quite feasible to grow them from seed as annuals. Sow indoors in March-April, or scatter the seed outdoors in April-May. In mild climates, especially in England, they will self-seed freely. Linaria purpurea ‘Bowles’ Mauve’ bears the typical violet-purple flowers of the species. Linaria purpurea ‘Canon J. Went’ has lovely pale pink flowers, but the color is not reliably retained in seed one has harvested oneself. In dry soil, the plants may survive Dutch winters.

It is best to sow directly outdoors in April-May, or else indoors earlier in the year. Put the plants in a sunny position in well-drained soil.

Purple toadflax is an upright, clump-forming perennial that features violet, single-spurred, two-lipped, snapdragon-like flowers from late spring through much of the summer. Flowers appear in terminal racemes atop narrow, erect stems typically growing 18-24″ (less frequently to 36″) tall. Each plant produces numerous upright stems with narrow, linear, blue-green leaves.

Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soil in full sun. Prefers a well-drained sandy soil. Dislikes heavy clay, poorly-drained and/or wet soils where it is susceptible to root rot. Cut back plants after the first flowering to promote additional bloom and to tidy the planting. Freely self-seeds in optimum growing conditions where it can become somewhat weedy.