On Sun, 3 Jun 2012 02:43:26 -0700 (PDT), Compo in Caithness
wrote:

Can someone please name this plant for me?

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0...4107.JPG?gl=GB

Centaurea montana or perennial cornflower. If you deadhead regularly
it'll flower for longer. If you leave the flowers to die on the plant
and go to seed, it can self seed quite vigorously around the garden.

After flowering, the plant will start to die back and the leaves
become susceptible to a form of powdery mildew so it's best to cut
the plant right back. If conditions are right it will then quickly
regrow and flower later in the summer.

Very easy to divide if you want to increase your stock but can be
difficult to get rid of - if you leave a bit of root in the ground, it
will eventually produce a new plant, possibly a year or more later.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the asylum formerly known as the
dry end of Swansea Bay.