STOCK

Description

This eager profusion of ruffles and fresh, cloves-and-greenery scent is a longtime friend of florists and gardeners alike. Its rich texture and pure colors are ideal filler for mixed bouquets and garden arrangements.

Cultivated as an annual, the biennial herb grows flower spikes 12–32" (0.3–0.8 m) high. The light fuzz growing on the stem and oval, gray-green leaves inspired the botanical name incana, which means “hairy,” and the common name “hoary (hairy) stock.” The four-petaled florets bloom on slender stems (racemes) branching off the main spike, measure about 1" (25 mm) and may be single or double, though the more lavish double blossoms are most in demand.

Stock flowers are not sensitive to ethylene. Their stems may be air-dried, or with a desiccant such as silica gel.

Colors: White, pink, red, purple, yellow, green

Special Care

Choose straight, dense, robust stems with healthy leaves and at least six open blooms. Recut stems and place in a bleach or biocide solution for an hour to protect against stem block from botrytis infection. Then place in fresh flower solution with a sugar to encourage full bloom.

An old florists' tale is that mashing the cut stems will improve water uptake. This is not so! Stock stems may be a bit woody, but standard processing techniques of frequently recutting stems and keeping buckets and flower solution scrupulously clean will work best to maximize water uptake and vase life. It will also reduce the swampy odor that can develop with improper sanitation.

Store no longer than a day or two at 33–35°F (0.5–1.7°C); any longer and the fragrance fades. Maintain good air circulation and change the water frequently, maintaining biocide and floral preservative levels as stocks are extremely susceptible to mildew. Keeping them out of the light will help keep the stems from stretching and curving.

Flowers air-dry beautifully when they are tied loosely (around three to five stems in a bunch) and hung upside down in a warm, well-ventilated area. If they’re dried fast enough, their fresh scent will be preserved along with them.

Fun Facts:

• Actually a member of the cabbage family, stock has edible flowers and green seed pods which share the family’s snappy, radishy flavor and make a tasty addition to salads and garnishes. (Leaves and roots are not edible.) Tempted to take a nibble? Try some organic homegrown stock and leave the preservative-treated florist flowers for show. Bon appétit!

• Stock was all the rage in 16th century Saxony (now part of Germany). Gardeners were so successful in breeding new colors that the government assigned each village its own official hue in order to develop the purest colors. New hybrids are still being developed, but breeders don’t have to leave town to find new colors these days.

• “Gillyflower” was a common name in Renaissance England, applied to several leggy-stemmed, ruffly-petaled, spicy-smelling garden flowers: stock (Matthiola), its cousin, wallflower (Erysimum), and carnation (Dianthus). Today, “gillyflower” only refers to stock, but when Chaucer and Shakespeare used the name, they were talking about carnations.

• The Matthiola genus is named for Pietro Andrea Mattioli, a 16th century Italian physician and botanist who first expanded the field of plant science beyond plants with medicinal value. The genus includes about 50 species of stock, including the florist’s M. incana.

• In the Victorian “Language of Flowers,” individual colors of stock have their own nuances, but collectively they symbolize overflowing affection and contentment.

• A member of the Brassicaceae/Cruciferae (cabbage) family, stock plants are related to turnips, arugula, wasabi and canola. (Though not to carnations!)