Globe thistle 'Arctic Glow'
Echinops sphaerocephalus 'Arctic Glow' · Asteraceae
Silvery-white globes on contrasting dark red stems, above jagged, grey-green leaves that are white beneath.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Early July to mid August
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Accent
A bed built around globe thistle 'Arctic Glow'
The planner designed this bed around globe thistle 'Arctic Glow' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why globe thistle 'Arctic Glow' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Globe thistle 'Arctic Glow' × 4, white
- 2 Common thyme × 5, lavender
- 3 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 19, pink
- 4 New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' × 4, pink
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Hyacinth × 8, blue
- 7 Schubert's allium × 4, pink
Why this plant
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 4 plants in 2 places. An accent is a punctuation mark: the repeat along the bed gives it rhythm.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From early July to mid August.
- Fills a gap. For 7 of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 24 of the 33 plants (73%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Pink is the colour seen most, on 3 of the 6 kinds grown for their flowers. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 51 to 49, left to right.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where globe thistle 'Arctic Glow' goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: accent. An upright plant used singly, like a punctuation mark, and repeated at intervals to give the bed rhythm.
A white globe is rarer than a blue one and shows up from further away. The red stems are a bonus. Cut the heads before they shatter, or it will seed widely.
- White globes for a dry border
- Bees
- Cutting
What to plant with globe thistle 'Arctic Glow'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Russian sage: in flower together for six weeks, from mid July; fine leaves against its bold ones; happy in the same dry soil.
- Purple coneflower: in flower together for seven weeks, from early July; medium leaves against its bold ones.
- Switchgrass 'Northwind': in flower together for two weeks, from early August; fine leaves against its bold ones; tall enough (5½ ft) to stand behind it.
Questions about globe thistle 'Arctic Glow'
Does globe thistle 'Arctic Glow' need sun or shade?
Globe thistle 'Arctic Glow' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled.
What zones does globe thistle 'Arctic Glow' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does globe thistle 'Arctic Glow' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early July to mid August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Mid July to late August |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Mid July to late August |
| Zone 5 | Early July to mid August |
| Zone 6 | Early July to mid August |
| Zone 7 | Late June to early August |
| Zone 8 | Late June to early August |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should globe thistle 'Arctic Glow' be planted?
20 in (50 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many globe thistle 'Arctic Glow' plants do I need?
At 20 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 4 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 14 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, repeated along the bed at intervals; a slender one reads better as a clump of three.
In the bed above, the planner used four in two groups.
Is globe thistle 'Arctic Glow' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to the ASPCA.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Will globe thistle 'Arctic Glow' spread?
It seeds itself about; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Self-seeds freely in open soil. Cut off the heads as the flowers fade.
What flowers after globe thistle 'Arctic Glow'?
Globe thistle 'Arctic Glow' is over by mid August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Switchgrass 'Northwind': from early August to early October, 5½ ft tall (a recorded partner).
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does globe thistle 'Arctic Glow' look like in winter?
Globe thistle 'Arctic Glow' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Echinops
- Globe thistle Echinops ritro
- Globe thistle 'Blue Glow' Echinops bannaticus 'Blue Glow'
- Globe thistle 'Veitch's Blue' Echinops ritro 'Veitch's Blue'
In these guides
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 20 in (50 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Early July to mid August; globes; white
- Leaves
- Bold texture, herbaceous; grey-green
- Shape
- Upright, self-seeding
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asteraceae
Checked against ASPCA poison lists and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.