Common Name: bighead knapweed
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Asteraceae
Native Range: Caucasus, Iran, Turkey
Zone: 3 to 8
Height: 3.00 to 4.00 feet
Spread: 1.50 to 2.00 feet
Bloom Time: June to July
Bloom Description: Yellow
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Flower: Showy, Good Cut, Good Dried
Tolerate: Drought, Dry Soil
Culture
Easily grown in dry to medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Centaurea macrocephala has bright yellow 3-4" across thistle-like flowers enclosed in glossy, light brown bracts on strong, stiff stems. Blooms for 2-3 weeks in the mid-summer. Sometimes commonly called globe centaurea or yellow hardhat. Good cut and dried flower.
Genus name comes from the Greek word kentauros meaning centaur.
Specific epithet means large-headed.
Uses
Very effective when planted as specimen plants or in clumps in the perennial border due to the somewhat coarse and stiff growth pattern. May also be massed in the border or meadow.