spear thistle
Cirsium vulgare
RHS Plants for Pollinators
USDA zones3 to 8
SunNeeds full sun (6+ hours)
WaterNeeds moist soil
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Habit
- Erect
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Bloom color
- Pink, purple
- Foliage color
- Green
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare) is a perennial for pollinator gardens and meadows. It is hardy to USDA zone 3, or down to -40°F (-40°C). This plant likes full sun and moist, sandy, loamy, or clay soil. It grows fast and stands upright. Pink to purple flowers open from early to late summer. Butterflies, bees, and birds all visit them.
Pairs well with Maximilian sunflower, Blackhawks big bluestem, and Purple lovegrass.
Native range
Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, Asia, and 17 more places. See all 21
Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, Asia, Africa, Altay, Baleares, Corse, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Kirgizstan, Krasnoyarsk, Kriti, Krym, NW. Balkan Pen., Sardegna, Sicilia, Tadzhikistan, Tuva, Türkiye, and Xinjiang.