Gillyflowers: sowing, planting, growing and maintaining

Description and Botany

Wallflowers are perennial, biennial or annual plants, with generous spring or summer flowering. The name Wallflower mainly refers to two plants: Erysimum cheiri and Matthiola incana, although the term broadly encompasses other closely related species. The most common is the raven wallflower, Erysimum cheiri, but the quarantine wallflower, or Matthiola incana, is also frequently found in cultivation. Both plants are native to Europe, particularly the Mediterranean region, but they have naturalised elsewhere.

Wallflowers can be found growing wild in France. The raven wallflower is often seen on old stone walls, between rocks… The quarantine wallflower tends to grow along the coast, on cliffs, rocky areas or low walls.

The raven wallflower is a short-lived perennial, but it is often cultivated as a biennial.

Wallflowers are named for their scent, which resembles that of cloves. They also have many synonyms and common names. Erysimum cheiri is known as the raven wallflower, wallflower of the walls, yellow rocket, golden stick… while Matthiola incana is often called the quarantine wallflower, summer wallflower, or garden wallflower… It is named after the Italian physician and botanist Pietro Andrea Mattioli (1501 – 1577). Erysimum cheiri is sometimes referred to as Cheiranthus cheiri (synonyms).

Erysimum cheiri: botanical illustration

The Erysimum genus includes over 200 species, while Matthiola comprises around fifty. The wallflower group is therefore very extensive, especially when considering the countless horticultural varieties obtained through hybridization.

These plants belong to the Brassicaceae family, sometimes referred to as Crucifers (an old name), due to their four-petalled flowers arranged in a cross. This family is known for the many vegetable and utility plants it includes: cabbages, radishes, rapeseed, mustard, rocket… It also contains ornamental plants, such as Iberis, aubrietas, or Alyssum…

Wallflowers are upright plants; they have erect stems that bear flowers at their tips. They can be semi-shrubby, and the base of the stems tends to become woody. Wallflowers measure between 20 and 80 cm in height. There are also many varieties selected for their compact habit (up to 40 cm tall), such as those from the ‘Bedder’ series of Erysimum cheiri, or those from the ‘Midget’ series of Matthiola incana. These dwarf wallflowers are particularly suited for pot or container planting.

The raven wallflower, Erysimum cheiri, blooms early in spring, between March and June; while Matthiola incana typically flowers in summer (although some early varieties can also be found). Thus, the flowering period of wallflowers can extend from March to September. Some varieties have the advantage of blooming as early as the end of winter (Erysimum ‘Winter Joy’…). It can be interesting to combine different varieties to enjoy a long flowering period!

Wallflowers offer a very generous and abundant flowering. They bear inflorescences at the top of their upright stems. Matthiola incana has large clusters of flowers, more or less elongated.

Wallflowers have flowers that are quite typical of the Brassicaceae family. They measure between 2 and 5 cm in diameter and consist of four free petals arranged in a cross. These petals are relatively broad and rounded. They are surrounded by four sepals, and at the centre of the flower, there are six stamens. The flowers of Matthiola incana are sometimes double.

The flowers of the botanical species Erysimum cheiri (raven wallflower) are orange-yellow. Generally, the varieties derived from it often take on warm shades: yellow, orange, bronze, scarlet red… while the quarantine wallflower tends to come in mauve, lilac, pink, purple, and white tones. Together, they cover a very wide range of colours! Wallflowers are appreciated for their bright and vibrant blooms. Some varieties even offer a hue that changes over time! They can have very beautiful nuances within a single inflorescence, as seen in Erysimum ‘Winter Orchid’.

While the flowers of Erysimum cheiri have a rather simple and natural appearance, making them easy to integrate into a cottage-style garden, those of Matthiola incana are generally more complex and sophisticated, often featuring double-flowered varieties and flowers grouped into large elongated clusters. They are more suited to a romantic garden, cottage garden, or English garden… in a more elaborate and sophisticated flowerbed.

The raven wallflower is a good nectar plant. Its spring flowering attracts pollinating insects.

Wallflowers have the advantage of offering fragrant flowers, and those of Matthiola incana are ideal for making bouquets.

The flowers of the evening wallflower, Matthiola longipetala, have the particularity of opening in the late afternoon. They are truly appreciated for their fragrance, which is why this plant is sometimes referred to as “fragrant wallflower.”

The flowers of wallflowers can take on different shades. From left to right, Erysimum ‘Winter Party’, ‘Bowles Mauve’, and ‘Jubilee Gold’

The leaves of the wallflower are quite ordinary. They can measure up to 20 cm long and have a fine, elongated, lanceolate shape. They are simple, with a generally entire edge, but sometimes dentate. They are arranged alternately on the stems.

The leaves of wallflowers are often green, sometimes slightly bluish, but can also take on beautiful grey or whitish shades (notably in Matthiola incana). There are varieties with variegated leaves, such as Erysimum linifolium ‘Variegatum’. The foliage of Matthiola incana is villous; it bears white hairs. In other species, such as Matthiola sinuata, the foliage is truly wooly.

The wallflower has a taproot system that is relatively fragile, making its repotting or transplantation delicate.

After flowering, the wallflower produces siliques (characteristic fruits of the Brassicaceae), containing the seeds. These siliques are elongated and narrow, resembling small bean pods.

The siliques of Erysimum cheiri (photo Wildfeuer) / The siliques and seeds of Matthiola incana

The main varieties of wallflowers

The most popular varieties

Our favourite varieties

Other varieties to discover

Erysimum linifolium Bowless Mauve - Wallflower

This is our star variety! It offers a flowering of a superb mauve shade. It blooms for a long time, and it is quite tall! It has been awarded the Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticulture Society (RHS).

• Flowering time April to November
• Height at maturity 90 cm

See the product sheet

Erysimum Constant Cheer - Wallflower

This gillyflower has the advantage of offering a flowering whose colour evolves over time! It comes in a superb gradient of red, orange, pink, purple, and violet. A rather unique flowering!

• Flowering time May to July
• Height at maturity 30 cm

See the product sheet

Erysimum Winter Orchid - Perennial Wallflower

The flowering of this variety changes over time, transitioning from orange, copper, to pink, then to violet, almost purplish. It is appreciated for its splendid and very harmonious shades, always in warm tones.

• Flowering time April to July
• Height at maturity 45 cm

See the product sheet

 

Erysimum Rysi Moon Plug Plant - Perennial Wallflower

An elegant variety, whose flowers have a lovely cream-white shade, delicately tinged with yellow. With its rather compact habit, it is ideal in a planter to dress window sills, balconies, and terraces!

• Flowering time April to July
• Height at maturity 30 cm

See the product sheet

Erysimum Winter Joy Plug Plant - Perennial Wallflower

This variety offers an early and long-lasting flowering, in a rather bright shade, pure violet. It has a fairly compact habit.

• Flowering time March to July
• Height at maturity 40 cm

See the product sheet

Erysimum Rysi Copper Plug Plant - Perennial Wallflower

This gillyflower bears a bright yellow-orange flowering, quite luminous, and with very beautiful nuances. We recommend placing it in a pot or planter.

• Flowering time April to July
• Height at maturity 35 cm

See the product sheet

 

Erysimum linifolium Variegatum - Wallflower

We appreciate this gillyflower for its superb variegated green foliage with cream-white! It also offers a violet flowering. However, it is a bit more tender than the other varieties.

• Flowering time June to August
• Height at maturity 50 cm

See the product sheet

Erysimum Winter Passion - Perennial Wallflower

This variety has a remarkable flowering of a bright and deep red at the same time, with subtle shades of pink and purplish. It will bring vitality and dynamism to your flower beds. It has a relatively compact habit.

• Flowering time April to July
• Height at maturity 40 cm

See the product sheet

Matthiola incana Heritage White

This gillyflower offers a flowering in white spikes. Very elegant, it will find its place in a romantic-style flower bed or in a cottage garden.

• Flowering time June to October
• Height at maturity 25 cm

See the product sheet

Wallflower Scarlet Bedder

This is a compact variety, with scarlet red flowering that stands out beautifully against its dark green foliage. It is perfect for creating a low border, or for making a composition in a pot or planter.

• Flowering time April to June
• Height at maturity 35 cm

See the product sheet

Planting and sowing wallflowers

Where to plant?

Install your wallflowers preferably in full sun! They do tolerate semi-shaded situations, but their flowering tends to be more generous when they are in the sun.

In any case, wallflowers need a draining medium, as excess moisture could encourage the appearance of fungal diseases. They cope well with stony, rocky soils. If your soil is heavy and tends to retain water, it is advisable to add gravel or coarse sand to improve drainage. You can also plant on a mound or a raised bed as this will facilitate water runoff.

Wallflowers tolerate calcareous soils very well. Matthiola incana are particularly suited to seaside gardens and tolerate sea spray.

Ravenella wallflowers, Erysimum cheiri, are quite happy with poor and relatively dry soil, while quarantine wallflowers, Matthiola incana, prefer slightly richer and fresher mediums. The former are undemanding plants: they can grow in very little soil, thriving by simply settling in a crack between stones, for example… Matthiola incana will appreciate a slightly deeper soil.

Wallflowers can find their place in a flowerbed, in a rock garden, a dry Mediterranean garden, at the foot of a stone wall… or even in a large pot or container, for the more compact varieties. They are also perfect for dressing up the most difficult areas of the garden to cultivate. They have the ability to settle where nothing else grows!

As they exhale a pleasant fragrance, it is interesting to place them near a frequented area, along a path, or in close proximity to the house.

Because it has a fragile root system, the wallflower does not like to be repotted or transplanted… We advise you to choose its location carefully to avoid disturbing it later!

The tallest varieties can be placed in the middle or at the back of the flowerbeds, while the shorter ones can border a flowerbed at the front.

When to plant?

The ravenella wallflower, Erysimum cheiri, can be planted in autumn or spring, while planting Matthiola incana is preferably done in spring. Wallflowers can also be sown directly in place in spring, around May.

How to plant?

Maintain a planting distance of about 30 cm.

For the ravenella wallflower, we suggest pinching the stem at planting time to encourage the plant to branch out.

1. Place the root ball in a basin filled with water.
2. Start by preparing the ground. Work the soil to loosen it and remove weeds.
3. Dug a planting hole. Add some coarse sand or gravel if necessary to improve drainage, as wallflowers do not like soils that retain water.
4. Place the root ball in the planting hole. We advise you to be careful with the fragile root system. Handle the plant gently, and keep as much soil around the roots as possible when removing the root ball from its pot.
5. Replace the soil around the plant and firm it down.
6. Water generously.

Although the wallflower copes quite well with drought, it is preferable to continue watering in the weeks following planting, while it settles in and develops its root system.

You can plant wallflowers in pots, but use a well-draining medium for this (a mix of potting soil and coarse sand, for example).

How to sow wallflowers?

Wallflowers can be sown directly in place in spring. As the roots of wallflowers are fragile, this operation has the advantage of avoiding repotting, which could damage their root system.

1. Prepare the soil. Break up the larger clumps of soil, remove weeds, stones, and roots. The seedbed should be fine and level. You can add some potting soil and coarse sand.
2. Sow by scattering, distributing the seeds over the surface of the soil.
3. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of potting soil.
4. Water gently, with a fine spray.

Continue to water in the weeks following sowing. You can then thin out, keeping one young plant every 30 cm, selecting only the strongest seedlings.

You can also sow the seeds in a nursery in spring, to install and repot later in the ground.

→ For more details, also discover our tutorial: How to sow wallflowers?

Maintenance

Gillyflowers require very little maintenance. They generally do not need any watering or fertiliser. However, if you are growing Matthiola incana, the wallflower, you may need to water it during prolonged dry spells, as it prefers rather cool soils.

In any case, it is advisable to install a mulch at the base of the gillyflowers to maintain soil moisture and prevent weeds from growing. In a traditional flowerbed, you can use organic mulch (such as fallen leaves, wood chips…); in a rock garden or Mediterranean garden, opt for mineral mulch (gravel, pumice…).

The gillyflower may require intervention to limit its spread if it becomes too invasive. Pull out young shoots and self-seeded plants.

We recommend regularly cutting back faded flowers to prolong flowering. This encourages the appearance of new flowers and limits the development of self-seeded plants. If you wish to collect seeds, leave a few faded flowers in place.

For Erysimum, it is best to prune once flowering has finished (usually around July – August, sometimes later). This helps maintain a compact, sturdy, ramified habit; otherwise, the plant may become bare at the base. Cut the stems back to ground level.

For Matthiola incana, the taller varieties and those with large inflorescences may need staking, as their stems can bend under the weight of the flowers.

Feel free to harvest gillyflower blooms for bouquets!

Although it is a perennial, the gillyflower has a short lifespan and does not age well. We suggest regularly renewing your plants by removing those that become unsightly and producing new plants through sowing or propagation by cuttings.

Erysimum cheiri can tend to become bare at the base, which is why it is advisable to cut back the stems after flowering. This encourages the plant to branch out.

Diseases and pests of wallflowers

Wallflower, Matthiola incana, is susceptible to powdery mildew and botrytis (grey mould), two fungal diseases favoured by excess moisture. Limit watering and avoid wetting the foliage when you water.

Ravenelle wallflower can be affected by downy mildew, a disease caused by a fungus and favoured by warm, humid weather. It is also susceptible to rust, which is characterised by the presence of orange spots on the leaves.

Regarding pests, wallflower leaves attract slugs and snails. You can place ash or sawdust around your young plants to create a barrier, make a slug trap, or use a slug control product like Ferramol. Wallflowers can also be attacked by flea beetles, small insects that perforate the leaves, as well as by aphids.

→  Learn more in our article Diseases and Pests of Wallflowers.

Multiplication: sowing and propagation by cuttings

Sowing

The wallflower (giroflée ravenelle) tends to self-seed spontaneously. You can harvest the dry fruits at the end of summer or in autumn to collect the seeds and sow them. It is also possible to buy wallflower seeds directly.

The wallflower is preferably sown in June-July in a nursery, to be planted in the ground in autumn (September-October). It will flower the following spring.

For Matthiola incana, you can sow at the beginning of spring under cover, or directly in place around May.

We recommend stratifying the seeds by placing them in the refrigerator, as they require a cold period to germinate (vernalisation).

1. Prepare a seed tray by filling it with special seed compost. Firm it down lightly.
2. Sow the seeds.
3. Cover with a thin layer of sifted compost, and gently firm it down. The seeds should be buried under about 1 cm of substrate.
4. Water with a fine spray.
5. Place the seed tray under a cold frame.

We advise transplanting the young plants as soon as they have a few leaves, without waiting too long, and taking care not to damage the particularly fragile roots.

You can plant your young plants in the ground in autumn.

→ Learn more in our tutorial How to sow wallflowers?

Propagation by Cuttings

Propagation by cuttings can be done in spring, or at the end of summer, after flowering.

1. Prepare a pot with compost (mixed with a bit of coarse sand for drainage), water it so that it is well moist.
2. Take a cutting from the plant about ten centimetres long. Choose a healthy stem, preferably without flowers, from a current year’s shoot. Cut just below a node (the point where leaves attach to the stem).
3. Remove the leaves from the lower half of the cutting, leaving only a few at the top of the stem. Similarly, if it has flowers, remove them.
4. Plant the cutting in the substrate.
5. Firm the substrate around the stem.
6. Place the pot in a sheltered location, in a bright spot without direct sunlight.

The substrate should remain slightly moist until the cutting begins to grow.

You can also use plant hormone by dipping the base of the stem before planting it in the substrate.

Associating wallflowers in the garden

Integrate wallflowers into a flowerbed or border, alongside other colourful perennial flowers. Varieties such as ‘Bowles Mauve’, as well as white-flowered wallflowers, are perfect for complementing the delicate blooms of roses! Add hardy geraniums, penstemons, ornamental grasses, and gypsophila…! Wallflowers can find their place in a romantic garden or a cottage garden, but it is advisable to favour mauve, pink, or white varieties, preferably among the ten-week wallflowers (Matthiola incana), rather than among the ravenelle wallflowers. Integrate them with clematis, sweet peas, jasmines, foxgloves, and with some bushes like spireas, roses, Hibiscus syriacus… The ravenelle wallflower, on the other hand, can fit into many different garden styles. Feel free to scatter a few plants in a naturalistic flowerbed.

Wallflowers can also be grown in pots or containers, to brighten up a terrace, balcony, or windowsill! Plant them with heucheras, hyacinths, Arabis caucasica, daisies, as well as with pansies or violets.

An example of a container association, with Wallflowers, Hyacinths, Pansies, Daisies (photo Friedrich Strauss – Biosphoto)

Since they enjoy full sun and tolerate drought well, you can also place them in a dry garden or Mediterranean garden. Plant them alongside aromatic plants and ground-covering plants. They can easily accompany spurge (notably Euphorbia characias), lavender, santolina, Jerusalem sages, cistus, and yarrow… We recommend favouring plants with grey or silver foliage and a cushion habit.

Similarly, wallflowers will also find their place in a rockery. They pair wonderfully with saxifrages, carex, phlox, Erigeron karvinskianus… You can even place your wallflowers directly between the stones of a wall. They will add a lot of charm to it! They can be installed there with other plants that require very little substrate: sedums, wall bellflowers, houseleeks, Cymbalaria muralis… Also enjoy the generous flowering of aubrietas!

Since its flowering is early, the ravenelle wallflower, Erysimum cheiri, pairs well with spring bulbs, such as tulips, daffodils, or hyacinths. Add other delicate blooms, such as those of Myosotis. You will create a stunning colourful scene to welcome spring!

With the many existing varieties, you can easily create beautiful colour combinations. For example, it is quite simple to design a scene in warm tones, by associating Erysimum cheiri with tulips, daffodils, heucheras with orange foliage, carex with bronze or golden leaves… You can also mix different varieties of wallflowers.

→ Discover more association ideas with wallflowers, in the garden or in pots, in our advice sheet!

An idea for an association in warm tones. Euphorbia characias ‘Wulfenii’, Erysimum ‘Bedder Scarlet’, Erysimum ‘Bedder Vulcan Brune’, and tulips / Carex comans / Erysimum cheiri / Tulips ‘Ballerina’, ‘Allegretto’, and ‘General de Wet’ (photo Clive Nichols – The Nichols Garden – MAP)