Hoary stock - Matthiola incana

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Hoary stock - Matthiola incana
© Susan A Tindall

This is a tall, showy, fast growing, bushy plant with fragrant pinkish-purple or white flowers in loose terminal spikes. These eventually produce pod-like fruits. It has grey, downy, lance-shaped leaves.

In the wild, hoary stock is a rare plant of sea cliffs, mostly on the chalk, and also occasionally on shingle. It grows inland as an occasional garden escape. This is an attractive and fragrant plant of value to bees, butterflies and moths, and most suitable for lime-rich soils in mild climates, especially on the south coast.

Animals

Bees and wasps, Butterflies, Moths

Foliage	Grey
Flower	Pink, April to July
Moisture	(Dry)
Sunlight	(Full sun)
Origin	Non-native