How to Grow Stock: Planting, Care, and Harvesting

Nov 05, 2026by David Schulze

Stock can bring soft color and fragrance to a cool-season garden, but the common name covers different flowers. Choosing the right instructions starts with knowing which kind you are growing.

This guide focuses on our Virginia Stock and Evening Scented Stock selections. These are not the tall, densely flowered florist stocks often sold for large bouquets.

Know the Two Types

Virginia Stock: Commonly known as Malcolmia maritima, this petite annual suits edges and informal flower beds. Its small flowers stay open during the day, making it useful where daytime color matters.
Evening Scented Stock: Commonly known as Matthiola longipetala, often listed under the older name Matthiola bicornis, this annual is valued for delicate pink-to-purple flowers that open at dusk and release a sweet, clove-like fragrance.

Florist stock, usually Matthiola incana, is a different selection with different production goals. Do not apply instructions for dense double-flowered cutting spikes to every plant called stock.

Choose the Right Garden Position

Grow Virginia Stock along the front of a border, beside paths or among compatible cottage-garden flowers where its small blooms can be seen up close.

Place Evening Scented Stock near a patio, doorway or seating area you use at dusk. Its value is as much about scent as a bold daytime display. Keep plants clear of foot traffic.

Both suit full sun to partial shade according to local conditions. Avoid deep shade and choose neighbors with similar drainage and watering needs.

Prepare Well-Drained Soil

Remove weeds and create a fine seedbed before sowing. Avoid ground that stays waterlogged after rain or irrigation.

Use moderate fertility, incorporating finished compost where needed rather than making the bed excessively rich. Heavy nitrogen feeding can encourage foliage instead of flowers.

Start with a manageable patch. A prepared area is more reliable than scattering tiny seeds over thick mulch or established turf.

When to Plant Stock

Plan for a suitable cool growing season. Spring sowing works in many regions, while fall planting may suit mild-winter areas. Follow packet directions and local frost guidance for each type.

Texas gardeners should consider winter conditions and the arrival of strong summer heat. There is no single statewide planting date, and a cool-season annual should not automatically be scheduled like a summer bedding flower.

Successive small sowings may extend the display where enough suitable weather remains. They will not overcome extreme heat or an unsuitable season.

How to Sow Stock Seeds

Prepare first: Remove weeds and large clods so small seeds can contact the soil.
Sow thinly: Distribute evenly rather than leaving dense clumps.
Cover lightly: Follow packet depth for the specific type rather than burying deeply.
Water gently: Keep seed in place with a fine spray instead of a strong stream.
Maintain moisture: Keep the seedbed evenly moist during germination without saturation.

Direct sowing is a convenient approach, particularly for Evening Scented Stock. Label the area and allow the packet's expected emergence period before disturbing the bed.

If starting in containers, follow supplier guidance and avoid holding seedlings until crowded or root-bound. Provide strong light and airflow once they emerge.

Thinning and Transplanting

Thin according to packet guidance, leaving room for branching and airflow. Do not leave every seedling simply because the first leaves look small.

Handle young root balls gently if transplanting. Harden indoor-grown plants off gradually, set them at approximately their original depth and water thoroughly.

Keep vigorous neighboring plants from covering young stock. Allow access for weeding and watering without trampling the stems.

Watering and Fertilizing

Maintain consistent moisture during establishment. Afterward, water as needed when soil begins to dry, adjusting to rainfall, exposure and soil texture.

Aim water at the soil where practical and avoid keeping roots continuously wet. Wilt is not always a request for more water, so check the ground first.

Use fertilizer sparingly according to soil needs and label directions. More fertilizer does not correct poor drainage, shade or heat stress.

Flowering and Fragrance

Virginia Stock provides a daytime display of small flowers. Evening Scented Stock is best appreciated as its flowers open toward dusk and its fragrance becomes noticeable.

Fragrance intensity changes with weather, plant maturity and growing conditions. An individual plant may not perfume an entire yard, so use several small groups near places you actually spend time.

Do not assume a quiet daytime appearance means Evening Scented Stock has failed. Observe it at the right time of day.

Deadheading and Seasonal Maintenance

Remove faded flowers for a tidy planting and reduced seed production, or leave selected healthy heads to mature if you want seed.

These selections have delicate, informal stems rather than heavy florist spikes. Virginia Stock generally needs little support; provide light support for leaning stems only where necessary.

Choose a sheltered location and control weeds while plants are young. Avoid routine hard pruning or applying single-stem florist-stock production methods to these types.

Annuals eventually finish their seasonal cycle. Deadheading and feeding do not guarantee continuous flowers through hot weather.

Growing Stock in Containers

Use a container with drainage holes and quality potting mix. Leave room for mature growth rather than overcrowding seedlings.

Position Virginia Stock where small daytime flowers can be seen, or place Evening Scented Stock near an evening sitting area. Match exposure to your climate and avoid a heat-trapping position during already warm weather.

Check moisture more often than in beds, but do not leave pots standing in water. Feed modestly as needed and keep delicate growth protected from strong wind.

Pests and Common Problems

Inspect leaves and seedlings for chewing damage or sap-feeding insects before treating. Identify the cause and use targeted measures when necessary rather than routine spraying.

Airflow, sensible spacing and appropriate watering help reduce conditions that favor disease. Remove badly affected material and seek local Extension guidance for persistent problems.

If plants are leafy but flower poorly, review light, maturity, season and nitrogen use. If they yellow or wilt, check drainage and moisture before adding water or fertilizer.

Harvesting for Small Arrangements

These selections are best enjoyed as garden plants, especially Evening Scented Stock near outdoor seating. Do not expect the long, sturdy, densely flowered stems associated with florist stock.

If trying a tiny vase arrangement, cut a few healthy stems with fresh flowers during the cooler part of the day. Use clean tools, place stems promptly in clean water and remove foliage below the waterline.

Test a few stems rather than assuming a particular vase life or indoor fragrance level. Leave enough flowers outside to enjoy the planting's natural appearance and scent.

Our seeds are sold for ornamental planting, not consumption. Do not use seeds or flowers as food or garnish based on a shared common name.

Saving Seeds and Managing Volunteers

Leave selected healthy plants to form mature seedpods. Monitor as pods dry and collect before they open and scatter seed.

Finish drying in a sheltered place with airflow. Separate mature seed from debris and store only when fully dry in a labeled container in a cool, dry location.

Saved seed may vary from the parent plants. Self-sowing is possible but not guaranteed, and unwanted volunteers can be reduced by removing pods before maturity.

End-of-Season Care

Remove spent annual plants and diseased material when the display finishes. Clean containers and plan the next sowing for a suitable local season.

New seedlings where seed dropped are a new generation, not proof that the original plants are perennial. Do not apply overwintering or division advice meant for unrelated perennial flowers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Virginia Stock the same as Evening Scented Stock?

No. They are different plants sharing the stock common name. Virginia Stock is useful for daytime flowers; Evening Scented Stock is especially valued for fragrance at dusk.