Catananche caerulea Bicolor

Able to bloom in the year of sowing, Catananche caerulea 'Bicolor' is the most beautiful of the white varieties. Also known as white Cupid's dart, this sun-loving hardy perennial of dry terrain generously blooms throughout the summer in small solitary, white and double heads, which are sometimes speckled with blue. They are carried by long slender stems above dense, grey-green basal foliage. Its paper-like textured flowers bloom from silver buds and retain their beauty in dried bouquets. This plant, often doomed to die in humid conditions, self-seeds abundantly in light soil.

Catananche caerulea is a short-lived perennial plant belonging to the Asteraceae family, native to the Mediterranean region. It can be found in dry meadows and grasslands, scrublands, hills, and along pathways, in poor, rocky and limestone soils, up to an altitude of 1500 to 1700m (4921 to 5577ft).  The 'Bicolor' variety is a vigorous form, with white and double flowers. When in bloom, it forms an upright tuft 75cm (30in) tall and 30cm (12in) in diameter. Its growth rate is rapid. It can flower within a few months of sowing in summer, but winter humidity often causes premature death. Its basal leaves are linear, narrow, and evergreen, with a pretty grey-green and silky appearance. From June to August, depending on the sowing date, it produces small flowers measuring 3 to 3.5cm (1in) in diameter, displaying a double row of slender flowers at the tips, which are white or speckled with lavender-blue, with a darker centre. The flowering is abundant.

Cupid's dart is a solitary plant, but it is never as beautiful as when in the vicinity of a plant with grey foliage, such as artemisia or silver ragwort. It is a wandering perennial that loves the sun and tolerates drought very well, carefully choosing light soil where its spontaneous seedlings will emerge. It is also grown in mountainous regions. It is perfectly suited for dry meadows, inhospitable embankments, rockeries, or even borders. It can even be potted.

This plant was once used for the preparation of love potions, which explains its common name Cupid's dart. It goes well with sedums and artemisias, as well as with the blue alpine thistle.