Cirsium riv. 'Atropurpureum'

Plume thistle ‘Atropurpureum’ is a clump-forming herbaceous perennial bearing elegant, upright stems topped with deep crimson-red, thistle-like pompons in early to mid-summer. Best grown in full sun on moist but well-drained, fertile soil, it is superb in mixed borders and naturalistic plantings, and also makes an excellent cut flower. Highly valued for wildlife, it attracts pollinating insects and holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit for reliability in gardens across Ireland.

To help give a clear sense of scale, the stone wall shown in our photos measures approximately 265cm in height. We also use familiar garden tools as visual references: a digging fork (110cm tall) and a hand fork (30cm tall). These are included purely as size guides to help you better judge proportions when viewing the images.

Position: Full sun

Rate of Growth: Average

Soil: Moist but well-drained, fertile soil

Hardiness: Fully hardy in Ireland (RHS H7)

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Plant at a Glance