Matthiola incana

‘Katz Apricot’

KATZ APRICOT STOCKS

Matthiola incana ‘Katz Apricot’
KATZ APRICOT STOCKS

The scent of Matthiola incana ‘Katz Apricot’ is one of life’s great experiences (not to mentio the lovely colour).

Heavenly sweet scent from soft apricot blooms

‘Katz Apricot’ Stocks have the divine, sweet, spicy-clove and all pervading scent that makes us all adore Stocks for the garden and vase.
The scent is intoxicating – you cant stop drinking it in.

Flower packed long stems

The blooms are a soft, creamy apricot colour – so easy to place in the garden and vase.
‘Katz Apricot’ is a recently bred variety, with improved stem length, and the flowers very closely packed up the long stems.
It also produces a high percentage of double blooms, with fewer singles emerging than older varieties.

Just a few stems will scent a whole room

The flowers are heavenly to cut and bring indoors for a vase, as just a few stems will scent the whole room with that bewitching fragrance.

Beloved by florists for bouquets & arrangements

Florists adore stems of Matthiola incana ‘Katz Apricot’ for bouquets and arrangements.
Because of the beautiful soft colouring (and fashionable of course), and the alluring scent.
So if you are growing the plants to harvest long stems for floristry – then do not pinch the plants out.

Garden display of lovely flowers

But if you are growing them for a garden display of lovely flowers – then do pinch the tip of the young plants out to create many side branches and bunches of blooms. 

Easy to grow in full sun or part shade

Stocks flower best if they are not too hot.
So if you garden in a hot climate – plant them where they will receive afternoon shade.
But if you garden in a cooler area – they can be planted out in full sun.

Easy to grow in composted soil or pots

Stocks are easily grown in well drained soil that has been well enriched with compost or organic matter. 
Do not overfertilize if you want maximum flower production, but rather prepare the soil before planting.
They also prefer a neutral to alkaline soil pH.

Great in pots where you can always sniff

Plants of Matthiola incana ‘Katz Apricot’ are ideal in pots, because you can move them to wherever you sit frequently, or have them under your bedroom window.
They grow well in containers.

Quick & easy to grow from seed

Stocks are very quick and easy to raise from seed – so some growers treat them as annuals, rather than as the short lived perennials that they really are.
From seed sowing to blooming is usually about 10-12 weeks.
But if you want to keep them to bloom again next year – then cut them back after flowering finishes and keep them over winter.
They can survive winter frosts in all but the very coldest areas.

Deer & Rabbit resistant

Matthiola incana ‘Katz Apricot’ is a deer and rabbit resistant plant, as the foliage has a bitter taste that they dislike. Though they are not completely immune, Stocks are not the favourite munch.

Magnetic scent for bees, butterflies & pollinators

Our garden friends the pollinators find the scent of Stocks just as enticing and intoxicating as we do.

Edible flowers & medicinal seeds

The petals of Matthiola incana ‘Katz Apricot’ have a sweet, peppery taste and make a tasty (and visually attractive) addition to salads, desserts and cakes, and garnish for savoury dishes.
While the petals are also popular for crystallizing and decorating cakes.
The seeds also have an age-old reputation as a herbal medicine, and particularly as an aphrodisiac.
Though personally I think the seductiveness is in the fragrance.
The seeds pods are also tasty and peppery in salads. 

Heavenly scented dried flowers & eco-friendly confetti

Matthiola incana ‘Katz Apricot’ makes an excellent dried flower, because it retains its colour well and retains scent exceptionally well when dried.
Making it perfect for environmentally friendly confetti.
Just cut the stems, hang upside down in a dry place out of sunlight, and use as required.

Send a message of affection to a friend

In the old Victorian “Language of Flowers” a bouquet of Stocks symbolizes overflowing affection and contentment.

For Cut Flower Farmers

* Make a succession of sowings every two weeks for continuous flower production over a very long season during cooler months.
*Do not pinch plants out, just let them grow naturally.
*Harvest stems when 1/3 to 1/2 of the flowers are open, for maximum vase life.
*If stems are to be stored before floristry use – the optimum bucket storage temperature in the cool room is 2-5°C.
*Plants have maximum flower production if sowings are timed to flower during cool weather, before and after the heat of full summer.

SEED SOWING ADVICE: QUICK & EASY

Suitable for beginners & kids

Seeds of Matthiola incana ‘Katz Apricot’ are very easy and reliable to germinate. 

Sow at any time indoors in punnets, whenever suitable temperatures can be provided. Note that stocks bloom best in cool weather – so time sowing to plant out for flowering during spring or autumn.
OR
Scatter directly in the garden during late summer/autumn or late winter/early spring.

Sow indoors for quicker and maximum germination: First sow the seeds in a punnet or cell tray, on the surface of good quality seed raising mix.
Then pat gently to ensure good contact with the mix.
Do not cover / or  just lightly cover the seeds with a little sieved mix or fine vermiculite, but do not bury them more than 2mm. deep.
Because these seeds need light to germinate.

Now thoroughly moisten the punnet by standing it in a shallow water bath.
And allowing the moisture to percolate up to the surface of the mix from below.

Then drain and place the punnet in a warm, well-lit position (with good light but no direct sunlight).

Keep the seeds warm & moist

Temperatures of 18-21°C approx. are ideal for rapid and optimum germination.
You can use a heat mat to maintain suitable warmth.

Continue to keep the punnet moist by misting the punnet from a spray water bottle regularly.
Covering the punnet with a clear plastic cover will help to maintain necessary consistent moisture.
Stock seeds do appreciate consistent moisture for germination, and resent drying out.

Seeds germinate in approx. 7-14 days.

Once the seedlings have developed their first true leaves, prick out of the punnet into small pots and grow on until planting out into the garden.

Seed Count: 50 seeds per pack approx.
(We always aim to exceed the stated seed count, and give a generous serve).

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