Wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve'
Erysimum 'Bowles's Mauve' ·
A bushy dome of narrow, grey-green leaves that sends up spike after spike of rich mauve flowers, almost without a break, from spring to autumn.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 6 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid April to early October
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve'
The planner designed this bed around wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve' 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 wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve' × 3, purple
- 2 Cottage pinks × 4, pink
- 3 Basket-of-gold × 8, yellow
- 4 Wild quinine × 3, white
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Coneflower 'PowWow Wild Berry' × 8, pink
- 7 Allium 'Gladiator' × 3, purple
- 8 Star of Persia × 3, purple
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are dense clusters, flat plates, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- At the back. At 2½ ft it is seen over coneflower 'PowWow Wild Berry' (22 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to wild quinine (3½ ft) and allium 'Gladiator' (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 26 weeks. From mid April to early October.
- Opens the season. In its first week nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- One of two evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as a cottage garden: 27 of the 27 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Low plants run along 96% of the front edge: silver sage, basket-of-gold and cottage pinks. The flowering is at its height in late June, with 5 kinds out together.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 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 wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve' goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
It may be the longest-flowering perennial there is, and it flowers itself to death in three or four years. Take cuttings each summer. Poor soil and sun keep it compact.
- Months of colour in a dry border
- Butterflies and early bees
- Gravel gardens
What to plant with wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- English lavender 'Hidcote': in flower together for six weeks, from late June; a low mound at the foot of its spires; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Lamb's ear: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its fine ones; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Rosemary: in flower together for four weeks, from mid April; spires rising out of its mound; tall enough (4 ft) to stand behind it.
Questions about wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve'
Does wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve' need sun or shade?
Wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve' 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 wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve' grow in?
USDA zones 6 to 9. It is hardy to zone 6, which means it survives winter nights down to about 0 °F (−18 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid April to early October. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 6 | Early April to early October |
|---|---|
| Zone 7 | Late March to early October |
| Zone 8 | Late March to early October |
| Zone 9 | Mid March to early October |
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 wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve' be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 2½ ft (75 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve' plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is there a native plant like wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve'?
Wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Autumn sage: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers mid May to mid October, not evergreen.
- Ironweed 'Iron Butterfly': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late August to early October, not evergreen.
- Texas hummingbird mint: the same job in a bed; 8 in narrower, flowers mid July to early October.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve'?
Wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve' is over by early October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Saffron crocus: from early October to early November, 5 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Chrysanthemum 'Sheffield Pink': from late September to early November, 2½ ft tall.
- Japanese onion 'Ozawa': from early October to early November, 10 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve' look like in winter?
Wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve' keeps its grey-green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
In these guides
- Evergreen perennials, ferns and grasses
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
- Silver and grey-leaved plants
Zone guides: Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
In flower in: April · May · June · July · August · September · October
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Mid April to early October; upright spires; purple
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; grey-green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 6 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. 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.