''Malcolmia maritima'', also known by its common name Virginia stock, is a popular annual garden plant from the family

Brassicaceae Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The le ...

. A beautiful and profusely flowering annual, it is probably one of the easiest of all plants to grow. Growing to about tall, it makes a mass of pink, purple and white fragrant four petalled (cruciform) flowers. It is native in Greece and Albania and may be naturalized elsewhere in Mediterranean Europe where it occurs in maritime sandy habitats and in waste places.

Cultivation

For best results in growing Virginia stock, sow on the surface in patches or rows and thin the young plants to 6 inches apart. It prefers full to partial sun and well drained soils.Huxley, A. (ed.) 1992. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening

Varieties

There is a fair amount of variation in cultivated material, particularly with regard to stature and flower colour (variously violet, purple, lavender, pink).

References

External links

USDA on Virginia Stock
Brassicaceae Garden plants Flora of Lebanon Plants described in 1755 {{Brassicales-stub