Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.
Facelia
Lacy phacelia is a fast-growing annual, easily recognised by its finely divided, fern-like foliage and its curled, scorpion-tail flower heads that gradually unfurl to open lavender-blue, bell-shaped blooms over a long period. It grows quickly to roughly knee or thigh height and flowers within a couple of months of sowing, which makes it popular and dependable in cultivation.
About
Lacy phacelia is a fast-growing annual, easily recognised by its finely divided, fern-like foliage and its curled, scorpion-tail flower heads that gradually unfurl to open lavender-blue, bell-shaped blooms over a long period. It grows quickly to roughly knee or thigh height and flowers within a couple of months of sowing, which makes it popular and dependable in cultivation.
It is not a British native: its home is the arid south-western United States and north-western Mexico, and it was introduced to Europe as a bee plant. Today it is widely sown as a green manure and cover crop, and as a deliberate nectar source on field margins and in gardens. The sweetly scented flowers are exceptionally attractive to honeybees, bumblebees and hoverflies, and it is often included in pollinator and beneficial-insect seed mixes. Sown on bare or cultivated ground in sun, it both feeds insects and, when dug in, adds organic matter to the soil.
Also known as
Fiddleneck · Lacy Phacelia · Lacy Scorpionweed · Phacelia · Scorpion Weed · Tansy Phacelia · Tansy Scorpionweed · lacy scorpion-weed · tansy scorpion-weed
Synonyms
Phacelia commixta · Phacelia tanacetifolia alba · Phacelia tanacetifolia cinerea · Phacelia tanacetifolia genuina · Phacelia tanacetifolia pseudodistans · Phacelia tanacetifolia staminea · Phacelia tanacetifolia tenuifolia · Phacelia tenuifolia · Phacelia tripinnata
In our seed mixes
Beta — under active development. This catalogue is still being built and accuracy-checked. The information here (including plant identifications, British native status, soil and sun/shade preferences) is provided in good faith for general guidance only and may contain errors or omissions. It must not be relied upon on its own — please confirm details with us before making planting, specification, foraging or purchasing decisions, and never eat or medicinally use any plant based on this catalogue alone, as some species are toxic. To the extent permitted by law, Phoenix Amenity Supplies accepts no liability for any loss arising from use of this information.