{"product_id":"stock-iron-blue","title":"Stock Iron Blue","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003etock Iron Blue is a richly fragrant cutting garden flower, producing densely packed spikes of ruffled blooms in a striking lavender-blue, held on strong, straight stems built for cutting and floral work. It belongs to the wider stock family, Matthiola incana, a group of old-fashioned cottage garden flowers loved as much for their perfume as for their looks, and Iron Blue delivers everything that makes stock worth growing in one of its most eye-catching colours.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eAs with every stock variety, the real drawcard is the scent. Stock flowers carry an intensely sweet, clove-like fragrance, strong enough that a single cut stem is often enough to perfume an entire room. The blooms are edible too, so beyond the vase there's scope to use them as a fragrant, colourful garnish. For the best results as a cut flower, harvest once about half the flowers on a stem have opened. Cut at that stage, Iron Blue will reward you with a vase life of around 7 to 10 days.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eOne of the real advantages of growing stock is flexibility. With two sowing windows through the year, Iron Blue can be sown in late winter and again in autumn, so you can keep that colour and fragrance coming at different points in the garden calendar rather than relying on a single flush.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eKings Seeds carries several stock varieties alongside Iron Blue, including other colours in the Iron series. They all share the same easy growing requirements and that unmistakable stock fragrance, so if lavender-blue isn't quite the shade you're after, there's likely a stock variety in another colour that will suit your garden just as well.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 dir=\"ltr\"\u003eGrowing Stock\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eSow from August through to October, or again from March through to May, giving you two chances through the year to get stock established. Stock seed needs light to germinate, so sow it on the surface of a good quality seed raising mix, press it down gently to make contact with the soil, and keep it moist rather than covering it over. Aim for a soil temperature of 15–20°C, and expect germination in 7–14 days. Transplant seedlings into a sunny spot once they're large enough to handle. Plants come into flower around 90–105 days from transplanting and reach a mature height of 45–75cm. These same principles apply across most stock varieties, since they share very similar growing needs regardless of flower colour.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!----\u003e","brand":"Kings Seeds NZ","offers":[{"title":"25 seeds","offer_id":49234775834932,"sku":"F1491.pkt","price":6.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0729\/0555\/6276\/files\/F1491-W.png?v=1785894983","url":"https:\/\/www.kingsseeds.co.nz\/products\/stock-iron-blue","provider":"Kings Seeds NZ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}