A clump-forming, thistle related perennial with upright, woolly, grey coloured stems up to 1 meter tall. These are covered with spiny, hairy, green to grey green divided leaves. From mid to late summer 5cm diameter spherical blue-grey to blue flowerheads appear and are loved by bees.

Leave the gone over flower heads in place into the autumn and winter as the seed are enjoyed by flocks of Goldfinches. Will tolerate any well drained soil if given full sun to part shade and looks great in gravel gardens with cacti, succulents and grasses.

Sent as a young plant in a 9cm pot. May be cut back for shipping and will be sent as dormant plants in winter.

Additional photos By No machine-readable author provided. Pethan assumed (based on copyright claims). - No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=309265