Which species are you growing Alistair? I have never grown these, and the only one I knowis M elegans which is a hardy annual, a nice alternative to Echinacea, other than E, are perennial, they like a dry open aspect, I don,t particularly like the smell of tar, which is why I haven,t grown them. Derek.

oh didnt realise about the tar (maybe a good cat deter-ant).....ive thrown the packet away now but its probably elegans anyway ill wait and see i got a feeling the flowers will be a lot smaller than echinacea