Last Updated on December 9, 2022 by Paul Guzman
Garden stock plants are also known as Matthiola incana plants. Commonly called Stock Plants, hoary Stock, or just Stock. These colorful plants are grown as annuals in the Southwest and other parts of the country. They are grown and used in flowering bed gardens and planted for their pleasant sweet smell and their wonderous flowering color.
Stock Flowering Plants
Stock plants are for landscape color during the spring, summer, and fall seasons. When I first started with plants (a long time ago) I would confuse them with snapdragons. It is considered a tender perennial and will do well in USDA zones 7-10.
When To Plant
Springtime is when they will look their best however you can plant them in partial shade to make them last longer into the summer seasons. It is considered a herbaceous perennial in cooler type climates. The most common Stock will grow from 1.5 to about 2.5 ft. tall and about 4″ wide. There are also the tall ones that reach up to 3 ft. tall.
Stock plants are hardy easy to care for plants with very little maintenance involved Watering and occasional fertilizing are all you need to do. The blooms are long-lasting and will generate more without you having to deadhead them. There are over 50 cultivars of stock plants.
The most common flower is purple but they also come in light pink, white, and yellow. They will go perfectly as a flowering border plant in spring. They like well-drained soil and need to be watered more often during the early summer months.
Best to fertilize once per month starting in early spring and ending in mid-summer. Use a good fertilizer with a higher analysis of phosphorus it’s the middle number on all fertilizers.
Problems with Stock plants
They are hardy plants with few problems. Root rot can occur if your soil does not drain well. The strong sweet smell will repel most insects and diseases are almost non-existent. Spray with Neem oil or Insecticidal soaps when and if insects do show up.
Where to place these plants?
Plant them in flowering beds along the border wall or in the middle with other shorter-type plants. They will bloom from early spring until it gets really hot. You can also use them in containers plant them in the middle of the pot and use shorter trailing plants for a great effect.
Geraniums are good companion plants.
Read more about Matthiola incana at – Wikipedia.
USDA zones 7-10
Stock Flowering Plants
Paul Guzman – Husband, Father, Grandfather, Gardener, and Webmaster of GuzmansGreenhouse.com – Please share this post below.
