Ornamental · Brassicaceae
Stock
Matthiola incana
Cool spring air, full sun, and a border of stock fill a garden with fragrant, old-fashioned romance.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
80–100 days
USDA 6–10
Overview
Stock carries a certain old-fashioned charm, the kind that suits a cottage border or a table set with cut flowers. Its upright spikes and clove-sweet fragrance belong to the cabbage family, Brassicaceae, and it plays the part of a cool-season annual, at its most graceful through the soft light of spring and fall rather than the glare of high summer. Give it the right moment and it sets a mood few flowers match.
Its palette leans gentle, running through pinks, purples, creams, and white that settle easily into almost any scheme. Plants rise 1 to 3 feet (30 to 91 cm), so the taller strains earn their keep in the cutting garden and the vase, where their long, fragrant stems perfume a room, while the shorter ones edge a path or fill a container by the door.
What stock asks in return is simple: cool weather while it comes into flower, plenty of sun, and soil kept evenly moist. Time it into the early, mild part of the year and it rewards a garden with weeks of scented bloom that carries indoors as easily as out. Leave it until summer settles in, and the show ends before it begins.
Care
The short version: stock wants full sun, cool weather, and even moisture in fertile, well-drained soil kept off the acidic side, set out early enough that it flowers ahead of summer heat. Treat it as the fragrant centerpiece of a spring or fall display.
Light
Set stock where it gets full sun, the surest way to strong stems and a generous show of bloom. A little partial shade suits gardens where spring warms early, but too much shade leaves the plant soft and leggy with few flowers to offer.
Water
Give the soil even moisture and never let stock run dry as it grows through the cool season. Water roughly every 3 to 7 days, a little more when the weather turns dry, and aim it at the base rather than the leaves to keep the planting fresh.
Soil
Plant into fertile, well-drained ground, be it loam, sand, or clay enriched with organic matter. Stock settles happily at a pH of 6.0 to 8.0, leaning slightly alkaline, and would rather you kept it away from acidic soil.
Temperature
Cool weather is stock's element. It takes light frost in stride and looks its best in the chill of spring or fall, comfortable across about 28°F to 81°F (-2°C to 27°C), then fading quickly once heat rises past that upper mark.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor air suits stock, so humidity is nothing to measure. Airflow is the thing to mind, since plants set too close together in damp weather give white mold its opening.
Feeding
Work a balanced, all-purpose fertilizer into the bed as you plant, then feed again about monthly while growth is strong. That even feeding keeps the fragrant spikes coming without softening the plant into floppy growth.
Pruning
Little pruning is called for. Pinch or cut away spent spikes to keep the display tidy, and gather stems for the vase while they are fresh. Grown as a short-lived annual, stock asks for nothing more.
Size & spacing
Plants stand 1 to 3 feet (30 to 91 cm) tall and spread about 9 to 18 inches (23 to 46 cm), so give each the room it needs. That spacing keeps air moving between them and the planting looking clean.
When to plant
Stock keeps to the calendar of cool weather, which makes its timing part of the pleasure of growing it. Start seed indoors through late winter, move the young plants into the garden as early spring arrives and the air stays cool, and enjoy bloom from late spring into the first warm weeks, a fragrant bridge between the seasons.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost; seed germinates in 7 to 14 days at 65 to 75°F (18 to 24°C)
- Plant: Transplant in early spring while weather is still cool; plants tolerate light frost. In mild-winter regions plant in fall or late winter.
- Harvest: Blooms May through July under cool conditions; cool exposure near 50 to 55°F (10 to 13°C) is needed to trigger flowering
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 6–10
Temperature: down to -23°C
Troubleshooting
Even a plant this elegant has its off notes, and with stock they usually trace to damp, crowded quarters that invite rot or a season that runs too warm. Read the early cues and a quick change of spacing, support, or timing keeps a planting looking its best.
White mold spoiling stems and leaves
The culprit is white mold, a fungus named Sclerotinia that arrives with the mild, wet, humid weather stock grows through. Lift and discard any plant showing the cottony growth and water-soaked rot, and do it promptly. Then space the survivors, water at the base, and keep the air moving so the spores never settle into a damp corner.
Fix:
- Remove and discard affected plants
- Improve air circulation by proper spacing
- Avoid overhead watering and excess moisture
The display fading as summer arrives
Stock is a cool-season flower, and heat brings its season to a close. Past 80°F (27°C) the blooms stop and the plants slip away quickly, and a heat-struck planting cannot be recovered. The graceful answer is timing, so grow it through spring or fall and cut the flowers before the hot weather settles in.
Fix:
- Grow as a cool-season crop and harvest before summer heat
- Time plantings for spring or fall cool periods
Foliage without a single flower
When stock grows lush and green yet offers no spikes, it went without the cool spell that brings it into bloom. Young plants want a stretch near 50°F to 55°F (10°C to 13°C) while they are small. Give them that cool conditioning at the right stage, or choose early varieties that flower after a shorter cool window.
Fix:
- Expose young plants to cool temperatures near 50 to 55°F (10 to 13°C)
- Choose early varieties for short cool windows
Spikes leaning and lying flat
This is lodging, a matter of balance rather than disease. The tall, top-heavy spikes tip or lie flat once wind or a heavy watering presses on them. A layer of horizontal netting set at planting, paired with a little breathing room, lets the stems rise straight through the mesh and hold their poise.
Fix:
- Install a layer of horizontal support netting
- Provide even moisture and avoid overcrowding
Toxicity
This is a flower to grow without second thoughts. The ASPCA counts stock among the non-toxic flowers, so it belongs in a home shared with cats, dogs, and children, and its scented blooms are even edible. Style it into any room or border with a clear conscience.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Welcome around cats. The ASPCA places stock among its non-toxic flowers, so a curious taste does no harm.
Dogs None
At ease with dogs. Stock holds no known toxin, though any dog that eats a large helping of any plant may pass through a brief stomach upset.
Horses Safe
Horses may graze beside stock in comfort, as the plant offers nothing that would harm them.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits come to no harm from stock, its leaves and flowers safe to browse.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep are untroubled by stock growing within reach.
Birds Safe
Birds may pick at the plant or its seeds with no ill effect.
People Safe
Stock is safe for people, its sweetly scented flowers fine as an edible garnish.
Varieties
A few strains of stock have earned their place, each with its own rhythm of bloom and tolerance for cold. These are the ones worth choosing between.
Harmony Series
This series, which counts Harmony Cherry Blossom and Harmony Purple among its colors, was bred to perform in warmer climates such as Florida.
Brompton Stock
A biennial-type strain gardeners overwinter for a generous flush of bloom the following spring.
Ten Weeks Stock
A quick annual that lives up to its name, coming into flower roughly ten weeks after sowing.
How to propagate
Stock begins as seed, and the real art lies less in sprouting it than in timing the cool spell that turns a leafy plant into a flowering one.
SeedModerate
Sow indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost, or in seedling trays for transplanting; germinates in 7 to 14 days at 65 to 75°F (18 to 24°C) · 30 to 50 days to reach transplant size
Stock is raised from seed, and its schedule is part of the charm. Sow indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost; seedlings appear in 7 to 14 days at 65°F to 75°F (18°C to 24°C) and take a further 30 to 50 days to reach transplant size. Sow in waves every couple of weeks to keep the bloom, and hand the young plants a cool spell so they flower.
Myths
Stock is toxic and unwelcome in homes with cats and dogs.
Not so. The ASPCA lists stock (Matthiola incana) among its non-toxic flowers, the ones that grace a bouquet without worry. It poses no danger to cats or dogs, so it belongs in the house as freely as in the border.
With enough sun, stock will bloom in any season.
Sun alone will not deliver flowers. Stock is a cool-season plant that needs a cool spell to bloom, and it comes undone once summer heat climbs past about 80°F (27°C). Keep it to spring or fall for its finest showing.