hoary stock (Matthiola incana) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

Hoary stock is often sold simply as stock, a fragrant cut flower with tall spikes of blooms. In U.S. gardens, it is grown for cool-season color rather than as a native wildflower.

Appearance

Growth form: Upright stems reach about 1–3 ft (0.3–0.9 m).
Leaves: Many plants have soft, hairy leaves with a gray-green look; some cultivated lines have nearly hairless leaves.
Flowers: Clove-scented flowers form dense spikes in white, pink, purple, and other colors. Garden plants may have single or .

Look-alikes

Night-scented stockMatthiola longipetala

Hoary stock has dense spikes of large, showy flowers. Night-scented stock has smaller, more scattered flowers that open and smell strongest in the evening.

Why they get mixed upBoth are Matthiola plants called stock and both are fragrant.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: Flower beds
Containers
Cut flower plantings
Range: Native to the Mediterranean coast of Europe, it is cultivated in the United States. It has also been recorded in California and North Carolina.
Preferred conditions: It grows best in full sun and moist, well-drained soil. Hot summers shorten its flowering season.

Life cycle

Reproduction: Plants can be raised from seed. Many double-flowered plants do not set seed.

Growing it

Care: In central Florida, growers plant it in late winter for a spring display.

Name and classification

About the name: The Maltese (M. i. melitensis) grows wild on the Maltese Islands. Single and double garden flowers describe cultivated forms, not subspecies. “Stock” is also used for related Matthiola plants.
Varieties and forms: Garden stocks have single or double flowers and vary in height and color. Some plants sold as stock are involving this species and other Matthiola species.

Conservation

IUCN Red List: NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed

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