Stock Flower (Matthiola incana): My failures and lessons growing this tricky flower

Stock!! It's the bane of my flower farming existence. Perhaps my biggest fail of a crop, so I reflect back in this video what I did and what I think I did wrong!

[@Fairyofthegarden]

I live in zone 9b and grew stock for the first time this year. Mine did beautiful with our 80 degree days and 60 degree nights. They are aren't as full but they make great focal flowers and the stems were super long. They do smell amazing. Can't wait to see how they do with cooler weather

[@bareflowerfarm]

That's awesome! What kind of varieties did you grow? They are really gonna take off in the cooler weather!

[@Fairyofthegarden]

@@bareflowerfarm I'm growing Katz High Double white, which bloomed first, and then Katz formula. Started them on 8/30. Now our weather is finally supposed to drop to the 60s so I'm ready to get the others in the ground. I grew it with my sweet William which turned out beautiful as well.

[@brendarosenau5880]

Hi Jesse! I enjoy your channel so much! I am in your zone as well, 6B, in Somerville New Jersey. I have had success growing stock in the spring with seeds started in March and transplanted out in the beginning of April and harvested through June. I have not been able to successfully grow it with a fall planting, even with frost cloth. Our temperatures in February just get way too cold for them to survive. Now one difference that I have from you, is that I grow in raised beds. I know that makes my soil temperatures a bit higher than yours perhaps. I know I am growing my stock on a much smaller scale than you are, but at least it might help to provide you with a point of reference. I hope it helps!

[@bareflowerfarm]

Hi neighbor! I am in Neshanic Station so we basically have the same zone :). It's a good point on the raised beds though. I think if I transplanted in the beginning of April with cover, I could potentially get a better flush!

[@lisacox6191]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@carolinablonde88]

Thanks for the video. I want to try stock this year after impulse buying seeds so your troubleshooting video definitely helps me

[@bareflowerfarm]

Glad to hear!! Good luck and I wish you success! Stock is such a hard seed to pass up when you see the photos 😂

[@Floraltherapyfe]

I impulse bought stock too lol. That cover shot on the Baker’s Creek catalog and the scengg the everyone talks about 🤤

[@alligator_pie]

I’m in zone 3 in 🇨🇦 , just started some stock seeds today, March 3. We’ll see how it goes. While our days can be hot come June , nights are usually quite cool due the elevation. Very helpful videos, and new subscriber!

[@bareflowerfarm]

Good luck to you on the stock!! Hopefully some 3 gives you more time when it starts getting warm for everyone else!

[@alligator_pie]

@@bareflowerfarm Another video of yours mentioned using mulch to keep the cold in the ground, I didn’t understand before about soil temp being so important for stock. Great tip! Mine are outside now, soil is 46F and they seem happy. The Katz variety I’m growing tolerates light frost (to 27F) really well. I’m amazed! Yay brassicas ! I’ve never planted annual seedlings so early , thanks for giving me the courage to try it!

[@maryruud9566]

Just found your channel, and am loving all the detailed information you provide! I share your pain growing stock. I'm in 4b/5 and for the past several years we've had a "false" Spring in early April, followed by cold/snow, then 2 weeks of "real" Spring, then weeks of 90+ temps beginning mid-May. After failing with Katz and Iron, I found the only variety that has worked for me is Quartet. They'll sulk a bit in those high temps, but just keep them watered and put down a little mulch. They bloom about 6 weeks for me. I get my seeds from Urban Farmer.

[@conniesanrn2730]

I grew stock for the first time, zone 6a. I started seeds indoors early February. Moved out by mid April about 2 weeks before my last frost. Theyre gorgeous!!!

[@bareflowerfarm]

Yay! Glad to see someone had success with stock! I will try again next year :)

[@anneharrington7951]

Great video! Growing flowers from seeds has been my hobby for 25 years. I have a plan for my stock seeds this year. I'm northern Ohio, where it is viciously hot in summer. Im going to start indoors in February and place the seed trays on my unheated glassed in porch for several weeks until maybe the middle of April. Hope it works.

[@bareflowerfarm]

Good luck! It sounds like a decent plan. If the winter stays this mild, you may be able to get them out even sooner 🙂

[@pharmajo6368]

Coming from a mediterranean climate, stocks grow really easily during our cool rainy seasons from autumn to spring. That said, I have also seen varieties that survive our hot summers and perennialise. I think the odds might be against you, but I would try different varieties to see if you luck upon one that will flower under your conditions. I also wonder if they might overwinter with some frost cloth thrown over them.

[@bareflowerfarm]

I think it's a good point re: trying different varieties. I think overwintering may be a long shot, may be something I consider if I have space in the future! Right now I'm overwintering ranuncs :)

[@marykennedy3351]

I've been binge watching you.🤣 I follow several flower farmers, and wow, you are fantastic. You really investigate your flowers. I do as well bc I want to get it right, but truth be told, you don't know till you try it. Nicole from Flower Hill farm swears by the quartet rainbow bc it branches out, and she gets multiple stems. Unfortunately, they are sold out at Johnny's and Territorial seed since she did her video.🤣 This makes so much sense about many flowers not liking the heat. Many weren't meant to be here, and we have to find a way to grow them with success. Thank you for such detailed Video's they are exstreamly helpful. This will be my first time growing stock. I'm in the PNW zone 8b and was going to start my stock and sweet peas this week. I got all the variety from Baker creek and the Katz and Iron from Johnny's to see which one does best. The Katz is suppose to bloom much earlier than the Iron from what I've read. Also, if you watch their videos, it doesn't do well in their over winter tunnels. So it must just be way too cold in their zone. Thank you for sharing.🥰

[@bareflowerfarm]

Aww, thank you for this! While I grew quite a few varieties, I really wanted to dive deep into a couple of varieties to get into the weeds. Stock was one of them but more because of how tricky they are! I did notice that quartet seeds were hard to come by this year after NIcole posted her video lol! Please do let me know how your stock does. I ended up buying Iron because I thought I would need more "time" for the stock to grow and wanted it to be more heat tolerant. It didn't work out haha.

[@karenm5681]

Mary, if you got all the varieties of Baker Creek stock, I suspect you may already have the kind of Stock that Nicole (Flower Hill Farm) was talking about, but sold under a different name. Take a good look at Baker Creek’s “Spray Antique Rose.” Look closely at the pink and white ombré colouring and compare that with the picture in Nicole’s video. “Spray type” means branching. Just saying…I mean…I’m not 100 percent sure, but it’s possible! Only one way to find out…grow it…and that’s what I’m doing too. All the other places were sold out, like you said.

[@marykennedy3351]

@Karen M Yes, spray means branching, but quartet rainbow is different from Antique Pink that you're referring to. Quartet stock, in general, is a branching type. There are several colors, but it's the Rainbow Quartet that is a favorite. Besides territorial seeds, Johnny's also carries it, but it's always sold out. We'll see how BC stocks do. I just planted them in soil blocks a few days ago. A little latter than I wanted, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[@karenm5681]

@@marykennedy3351 Good to know! Thanks for the info. I’ll grow what I have “in stock”😉 this year and try again later for acquiring some Rainbow Quartet for growing next year.

[@alisonburgess345]

Ha - mine are going along quite nicely Jessie. No good at overwintering (I'm in a cold climate). Like you, I'm desperate to get them to succeed - I look at them every day. Fun fact - they are a brassica and subject to white butterfly egg laying activities!

[@bareflowerfarm]

Good luck and I hope they give you a good crop! I always think it’s funny they’re a brassica. The seed looks like brassica but the growth habit looks anything but! Anyway, another reason for fall planting since the brassica loving worms are in lower populations than the spring 😉

[@kathsflowerpatch5220]

I successfully grow stock in zone 9b not even early spring I planted it 19 days after my last frost date and oh god they put up a show, I believe they were like 12 inches tall not a lot of stem to work with. I have fall planted this October and I keep on getting them in the ground with our lows at night of 38 or 34 33 in the mornings they not doing much but still standing and the yellow leafs had green out. Hope you have success this coming season.

[@bareflowerfarm]

Would you mind sharing what variety you grew in the spring? That's crazy you pulled off stock in 9b!

[@BrittanyPippin-ul7po]

I’m interested in learning too! I’m also in 9b and was hoping to try stock but now I’m hesitant 😅

[@0thepyat0]

Southeast NC gardener here, zone 8a. Thanks for this vid. I too have struggled with growing Matthiola incana, so much so that I've resolved to only grow Malcomia maritima. It's less cultivated-looking...definitely cottage core...but it finally gave me that awesome show, and scent, of stock! It was jamming well into summer. I'm thinking this Virginia stock is native and therefore probably less of a resource hog than M. incana, but I don't know that for certain. It was just a delight to succeed at last with stock.

[@bareflowerfarm]

That’s a great alternative! We really all should be trying to find more cut flowers that are native to our areas- both to be more successful but also be less of a resource hog and benefitting our environment. I will look into this variety, even if it’s for landscaping. I love the cottage vibe!

[@alliciaocampo3723]

Grew this one in pots this spring and I loved it! Just sprinkled the seeds around randomly in pots that were empty or had room. Not as large as well grown stock, but very satisfying to grow.

[@cbak1819]

zone 6a here.. east of Lake Erie , growing Katz next Spring. our spring weather sounds perfect for Stock. I'm thinking you would need to cover your soil before planting to bring up temp . Thank you, this makes it less of a guess .b

[@ristube3319]

I have always had them form new buds until hard freeze.

[@ristube3319]

I live in coastal Connecticut and have had them spring to heavy frost. I also gave one to my friends from Key West from my garden to remember me, it thrived there more than I had.

[@bareflowerfarm]

That makes sense especially if they had it during their winter!

[@mimlauj6869]

This might not help you because of the zone difference but I thought you might be interested in my experience. My Katz stock did okay (zone 4b) the ones I had in the pot had the biggest blooms, the ones in the ground did eventually bloom to usable accent flowers. They all had around 18-24" stems. The ones in the pot had less sunshine hours than the ones in the ground and did get taller than my in-ground ones. We had a hot summer here, almost everyday above 80 for several weeks. They did lull during this time, but they bloomed again towards the end of summer when the temps went down. I started the seeds with my snap dragons in mid March. They got planted late April-early May. I'm trying plugs from farmer Bailey this coming spring for week 12-13. I'll also be starting Katz stock again from seed to go in the ground at the same time as the plugs. I don't think you should give up! But you might have to change what time you start, maybe even earlier with some low tunnels.

[@bareflowerfarm]

Very interesting especially with the difference between the pot and in ground stock! I have heard of better success with Katz. I bought Iron bc it's supposed to be earlier flowering but I think that also contributed negatively bc I needed a variety that liked longer days/could tolerate heat. I may attempt with Katz and other varieties in the future!

[@Floraltherapyfe]

Thank you for this! I’m going to try some in my raised planter in the garage window with supplemental light

[@karunald]

Started 9 indoors. Now 6. Tiny, Chlorotic looking despite Fert. Baker Creek: Baby High Dbl Cream. I'm experienced and never had such a fail. I don't think these will get out of the house even.

[@bareflowerfarm]

Ah im so sorry to hear that! Stock has traditionally been a very easy seed to germinate and does quite well in soil blocks. But my seeds have been from Johnny's, I haven't tried Baker Creek's stock yet. I use alot of their veggie seeds and they do great. What kind of soil mix are you using for seed starting?

[@karunald]

@@bareflowerfarm Just jiffy organic starter. Which I use or everything and all end up beautifully. I up pot in either ProMix or Happy frog - depending. Never had seedlings look so shitty or even die. I pride myself on my seed starting lol

[@AquaBlueWife]

I bought some at Lowe’s I think December or January 9b put on sheltered porch it’s end of May weather is heating up stopped producing buds. Thinking of planting in shade part sun area to see if they come back or put underneath back patio

[@bareflowerfarm]

It's definitely worth a shot! For what its worth, I kept my stock that stopped blooming for the fall and they never recovered :(

[@summerskyegardens]

Is it too cold there to do fall planting? I'm in south Texas 9a and I fall plant and they do well. I cover them if temps get below 27. We'll have cold rainy spells in Jan, Feb.

[@bareflowerfarm]

It's definitely a bit too cold to fall plant without cover here unfortunately. We get into temps below 27 as early as October and by Dec/Jan we are in the teens at night :(

[@Car-jy8pw]

I’m in 8b Texas. When do you start your stock seeds (and transplant) for fall planting?

[@doreenhenry8805]

I winter sowed stock in milk jugs and now I have many dozens of seedlings. Not sure what to do with them now. I'm just going to plant them in different spots in my yard and garden and hope for the best. I'm in Michigan zone 5a. We just had our last frost a week ago and now it's 90.

[@bareflowerfarm]

It may be a bit late for stock especially if they're still in seedling stage but hey, who knows!

[@nancyk8153]

I live in zone 9A and we get so warm in April that stock is extremely difficult for me to grow. It's Dec. 7th and we are currently 82 degrees.

[@bareflowerfarm]

Zone 9A is definitely really hard to plant stock precisely for that reason! You guys don't have enough of a cool period :(

[@rickburt4275]

Ranunculus is the flower that I love that are difficult- been trying for years. The most beautiful stock I have ever seeen were growing in a greenhouse in February ( I think )n full flower. I think both stock and Rannunculus need a cool greenhouse where you can let out the heat and grow them in the winter cool. I just bought some lavender cut flower stock and they are gorgeous ! Did you know you can eat them? I have also heard that stock need a neutral to alkaline soil.

[@bareflowerfarm]

I guess I’m not surprised you can eat stock! There are a lot of edibles that we sell as cut flowers. But to your point, tunnels and structures really help with both crops which love cool weather (not cold) but also want short daylight!

[@ElderandOakFarm]

I know Laura from Garden answer has had great success with it... in her cutflower garden. I have issues with it because of all the rain I get (70+ inches per year) & also figuring out when to plant it...

[@bareflowerfarm]

Good to know! I’ll check her video out. Where do you live where you get 70+ inches of rain a year?!

[@ElderandOakFarm]

@b.a.r.e. flower farm Southern Indiana! It stinks! I deal with a ln average of 70% humidity also so we deal with a lot of fungal diseases because of the dew & humidity. & I have clay soil so it holds on to every bit of moisture! 😔

[@phyllishodges7637]

I live in Zone 8b (southeast GA). I got a Matthiola incana for Mothers Day a couple of years back. I’m not really sure what to do with it, it’s growing and the stems are long but they just lay down, they’re not standing up like most of them I see. I also see that people have them tied to a stake and they are bushy with leaves, mine doesn’t hardly have leaves, it does bloom once in a while. Should trim the stems back and tie them to a stake to start them all over? What can I do? I wish I could send you a picture of how it looks.

[@bareflowerfarm]

Hmm sounds like you have a different kind of stock that most of the varieties cut flower farmers grow for cut flowers. If it doesn't have leaves, something is off and perhaps you should start over and trimming it back, assuming it is cut and come again!

[@shannonmurphy80]

I love this video! I'm trying to grow stock from seed for the first year. I also struggle here in high desert zone 6 with the super fast onset of summer heat but because we are at high elevation our nighttime temps don't get above 60 until July. Anyway I'm not growing for market, just for my own enjoyment so my plan is to start them indoors SUPER early, like Jan 1, so that they are very close to being ready to flower when I put them out in early April. I am just basing this off my experience of having planted hardware store 6-packs of stock beginning in early April and having them do all right. Anyway this approach is probably not scalable--but I do wonder if putting them out early when the soil temps are low is more problematic for smaller vs larger plants. I look forward to following your continued experiments! Thanks so much for sharing this breakdown of your experience, this is WAY more helpful than just celebrating successes!

[@bareflowerfarm]

Good luck to you!! I think it’s smart to start them early. They are easy to germinate but aren’t like zinnias where they want to get out asap. I hope your plan works and glad this video could be of help! ☺️

[@jenniferthomas7393]

Hi Jessie I seem to recall reading somewhere that many seed varieties for stock are not suitable for gardens as they are genetically engineered for greenhouse production (particular daylight length etc). I would perhaps try a few different seed types and suppliers to see how you go?

[@bareflowerfarm]

That makes a whole lot of sense! I will look into this!

[@drewsample9610]

In this case, not genetically engineered, just selectively bred. If you are concerned about selecting a variety intended for a home gardenering conditions, look to the Japanese Stock varieties, they value different goals in plant breeding there, more suitable for small scale growers. Baker Creek has a good selection.

[@retriever19golden55]

I'm looking at trying it, I'm in the Fingerlakes region of New York. Used to be zone 5, now they're telling me we're 6b...climate change much?! Anyway, I'm looking at seeds from HPS, variety Mime Mix. HPS doesn't give a lot of instructions because they sell mostly to professional growers, but it does say this variety doesn't require PGRs, which I don't have access to.

[@Floraltherapyfe]

@@retriever19golden55 I’m over near Saratoga in 5a! Thanks for the tip 😊

[@ristube3319]

14:18 You should use hay or dead leaves for winter

[@MartinHouseFlowers]

I grew stock from seeds (Bakers Creek germination was 100%) in soil blocks and put them in my raised beds mid May, some plants were already flowering and they are doing well around 12"+ tall. The only issue I experienced was that one of two trays were hardened off on the lower level of my potting bench and started reaching for the light so the stems grew crooked. I wondered if I could cut the crooked stems so they can restart, but I think they're a one and done? I'm a home gardener in Northern Illinois zone 5B

[@bareflowerfarm]

Interesting! That's amazing that you were able to get them flowering already. Most stock are one and done. I suspect if you cut them, they could produce shorter side branches like most one and done flowers!

[@sislertx]

I got i stock bug too And i always.end up buying about.20 six inch pots. For my personal enjoyment

[@SerenityGardening]

Great video! I never bought seed because everywhere I looked it said it's a biennial plant. Two weeks ago I got some hoary stock seeds. The seed packet says biennial 😞 Are there different cultivars that are annual? Now I am very confused.

[@bareflowerfarm]

Yes there are! They are either biennial or a short lived perennial. I’ve made that mistake too before, accidentally doing that foxglove

[@SerenityGardening]

@@bareflowerfarm thank you so much for the help and for all the info you share online!

[@violetgracie3184]

Thanks!

[@bareflowerfarm]

Wow violet, thank you so much, I so appreciate this!!

[@maricelaguevaraestrada7092]

I am in NH zone 5b my stocks bloom all the time some made it up to 3f tall also they branch out a lot

[@bareflowerfarm]

Sounds like you do well with a branching stock! I believe Nicole from flower hill farm also had massive success with those in zone 4

[@beckysocia1642]

And when did you plant them out, at how many weeks old?

[@alliciaocampo3723]

Quartet is great branching variety! Wild garden seed has them

[@helenachase5627]

Mine bloomed in the tray at 2 inches. I guess that's a fail ! Started them way too early and they hated being in soil blocks. Next year I'll sow much, much later

[@bareflowerfarm]

There's definitely a sweet spot. I think the risk of starting too late is still greater than too early bc you can always pot up!

[@Chris_Senpais_Mitt]

Thanks for the video Jessie! I really love how you share your successes as well as your failures 😂 I am attempting to grow stock too (1st year). I am in U.K. equivalent zone 8 I believe. I planted 2 varieties in July in a high tunnel. Some plants of the first variety flowered already, some didn’t. The second variety have bushed out nicely and put on quite a lot of vegetation and have now gone dormant due to the cold. So I’m hoping for some spring blooms from them. Unfortunately I didn’t know how to check for singles/doubles at the time, so I might get a lot of singles! But I’m going to try again when I get my grow lights set up soon. Good luck with your experiments, learning from our mistakes is all part of the fun of gardening ☺️

[@bareflowerfarm]

Singles still have a place in bouquets in my view :). That's awesome that you were able to get some flowering already. I know that a local farm also grows in a high tunnel and they start seeds in late July and their stock is putting on a show. Good luck with hopefully getting blooms in the spring!

[@kaylaowens3532]

Katz will probably grow way better for you. I'd give that a try before you write them off they are simply amazing. I'm in cny 5a/b.

[@bareflowerfarm]

Others have mentioned this too and I think I will give Katz a try. The practical thing is to write them off but stock is that flower I will pursue until I nail it... and then I will rest in peace :D

[@alliciaocampo3723]

Do you know if they are more resistant to the heat or cold?

[@Cherryparfait41]

@@bareflowerfarm I’ll have to try Katz also next year! I dove into the iron thinking I’d give it one more go this year, BT wishing I would have explored this option. Or, that I would have started them even earlier than today. 😂 Always adjusting.

[@ristube3319]

These have been my absolute favorite flower. Smell them a mile away

[@melb.6617]

Hello, fellow NJ”ER though I’m north Jersey. I had success winter sowing Stock last year.

[@bareflowerfarm]

You overwintered stock? Do you mind sharing when you started and how you covered them?

[@melb.6617]

Oh, no, I didn’t overwinter… I winter sowed In jugs. Now I’m not growing 100’s, so this might not be practical for you. But they did germinate and grow for me. I just started some yesterday in jugs on my deck… I’ll let you know how it goes. Not sure where in NJ you are, but in Sussex, spring still has very cool nights. We’ve had late frosts as late as first week of May. (Hopefully not this year)@@bareflowerfarm

[@bareflowerfarm]

@@melb.6617ah gotcha! I had some grow but they didn’t grow great. This year I’m going to intercrop them in between things like sunflower to give them cover. We shall see if that gives me better stems!

[@melb.6617]

You’re lucky you get to grow sunflowers, Deer devour them up here! I have to be very choosy what I grow….or painfully spray nonstop haha@@bareflowerfarm

[@bareflowerfarm]

@@melb.6617 We had to put up a deer fence :(

[@Nicholas.Tsagkos]

Timing is very important, i don't think they like winter a lot, they are summer flowers.

[@es4666]

Aren’t they biennial??

[@bareflowerfarm]

It depends on the variety, but the majority of stock that flower farmers grow flower in year 1 and are cut and come again

[@mariav5539]

It's embarassing, but I can't grow sunflowers with any regularity.

[@bareflowerfarm]

oh no! Is it the birds that eat up the seeds? Or something else?

[@mariav5539]

@@bareflowerfarm I usually put out seedlings which either just die or get eaten :(

[@oanagyenge1422]

I enjoy your videos, but you need to get your fact straight for this one. Check the temperate climate, please. It definetly has 4 seasons. And they used to be kind of independent seasons. Mediteranean weather is a variation. If stock prefers the mediteranean weather does not change the regular definition for a temperate climate.

[@user-gh2wj3cl5d]

Sunflowers suppress the growth of neighboring plants

[@bareflowerfarm]

Hmmm, I've never had an issue intercropping with sunflowers!

[@denisemorris452]

Just forget about them

[@bareflowerfarm]

😂 this is the most sensible advice here

[@sislertx]

That's what i sorta did I now plant. About six 6 inch pots already blooming.for me to enjoy as i pitter around outside They burn out quick in or.heat . 8b Texas