Garden Care Guide

Stock Care

Matthiola incana

An annual or biennial known for its dense, spicy-scented flowers in spikes that open in spring. For abundant flowering it likes full sun and well-drained, slightly alkaline soil. It is also a valuable cut flower.

Half-hardy · -8 °C / 18 °F

Monthly care calendar

Timings are for a temperate Northern Hemisphere climate. In warmer areas tasks start earlier, in colder areas later; in the Southern Hemisphere shift them by six months.

January
  • Watering: Usually not required; winter rains are sufficient.
  • General care: Make sure drainage is good so the roots do not rot in winter rains.
  • Pests & diseases: Check the root collar for soil-borne fungi.
  • Frost risk: In hard and prolonged frosts, cover the root zone with mulch or dry leaves; also protect young plants. It is damaged below about -8 °C.
February
  • Watering: Not required; only water lightly if drought becomes severe.
  • General care: Clear weeds by hand. Growth speeds up as the weather warms.
  • Pests & diseases: Start checking the young shoots for aphids (Aphidoidea).
  • Frost risk: In hard and prolonged frosts, cover the root zone with mulch or dry leaves; also protect young plants. It is damaged below about -8 °C.
March
  • Watering: 10-15 L/m² per week if there is no rain.
  • Fertilizing: Apply a balanced fertilizer or well-rotted organic fertilizer once when it wakes from dormancy.
  • Plant protection: Protective fungicide for downy mildew (Peronosporaceae); insecticide for aphids, at the label rate.
  • General care: Support the plant for flower stalk elongation (if necessary).
  • Pests & diseases: Watch for white mold (downy mildew) on the undersides of the leaves, and for aphids.
  • Frost risk: Late frosts can damage flower buds.
April
  • Watering: If there is no rainfall, water every 15 days.
  • Fertilizing: High-phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) liquid fertilizer (bloom booster), every 15 days, at the label dose, do not overdo it.
  • Pruning: Encourage flowering of the side branches by cutting the faded main flower stalk at the base.
  • Plant protection: For aphids (Aphidoidea), an insecticide; for downy mildew (Peronosporaceae), a fungicide, at the label dose.
  • General care: For cut flowers, cut early in the morning before the flowers are fully open.
  • Pests & diseases: Check for aphids and for white mold (downy mildew) on the undersides of the leaves.
May
  • Watering: If there is no rainfall, water once a week.
  • Pruning: Regularly remove spent flowers at the base; this encourages new flowering.
  • General care: Spread a 5-7 cm layer of mulch over the root zone; it retains soil moisture and suppresses weeds. Do not pile mulch against the trunk.
  • Pests & diseases: With the hot weather the plant begins to complete its life cycle; disease control is generally unnecessary.
June
  • Watering: Water deeply twice a week; prefer infrequent and generous watering over small and frequent. Water so that the soil is wetted 10-15 cm down from the surface.
  • Pruning: Regularly remove spent flowers at the base; this encourages new flowering.
  • General care: The plant has completed its life cycle. Pull up dried plants and clear them from the soil. Collect seed capsules once they turn brown.
  • Pests & diseases: Plant debris should be collected.
July
  • Watering: Water deeply twice a week; prefer infrequent and generous watering over small and frequent. Water so that the soil is wetted 10-15 cm down from the surface.
  • Pruning: Regularly remove spent flowers at the base; this encourages new flowering.
  • General care: The plant has completed its life cycle. You can begin preparing the site and improving the soil for new planting.
August
  • Watering: Water deeply twice a week; prefer infrequent and generous watering over small and frequent. Water so that the soil is wetted 10-15 cm down from the surface.
  • Pruning: Regularly remove spent flowers at the base; this encourages new flowering.
  • General care: The plant has completed its life cycle. Plan for autumn sowing.
September
  • Watering: If there is no rainfall, water once a week.
  • Pruning: Regularly remove spent flowers at the base; this encourages new flowering.
  • General care: Time for sowing seeds for the new season. Sow the seeds directly into the prepared site or into seed trays.
  • Pests & diseases: Watch for damping-off in young seedlings and avoid overwatering.
October
  • Watering: If there is no rainfall, water every 15 days.
  • General care: Time to transplant (plant out) into the garden the seedlings sown in cell trays.
  • Pests & diseases: Protect the seedlings from snails and slugs (Gastropoda).
  • Frost risk: Usually absent, but late in the month it may become cooler.
November
  • Watering: Usually not needed, as rains begin.
  • General care: Seedlings develop their root systems before entering winter.
  • Frost risk: Young seedlings are tolerant of the first frosts.
December
  • General care: The plant enters winter dormancy and passes the winter with a rosette of leaves.
  • Frost risk: In hard and prolonged frosts, cover the root zone with mulch or dry leaves; also protect young plants. It is damaged below about -8 °C.

The care advice on this page is general and for information only; it is not professional advice. Plant age, soil and your garden’s microclimate can change the outcome. Plant protection products are mentioned only as general information; they are regulated, and the choice, dose and timing must be decided by a qualified professional under local rules. Consult a landscape architect or agronomist before applying.

Want reminders for every plant in your garden? Our garden-care app with monthly task lists and frost alerts is currently available in Turkish; the English version is on the way.

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