Matthiola incana Katz Cherry Blossom | Stock

Matthiola incana Katz Cherry Blossom is a professional cut flower stock with beautifully soft cherry-blossom pink flowers, strong upright stems and the distinctive sweet-spicy fragrance of stock. Its delicate, luminous pink colour sits between blush and soft pastel pink, creating a romantic and exceptionally versatile shade for spring bouquets, wedding flowers and professional floral design.

Katz Cherry Blossom belongs to the early-flowering, single-stem Katz series developed for professional cut flower production. The series is valued for its uniform flowering, strong stems and reliable cut flower quality. Each plant is grown to produce one main flowering stem, making it especially suitable for planned commercial harvests.

Plant Information

• Botanical name: Matthiola incana
• Common name: Stock
• Variety: Katz Cherry Blossom
• Series: Katz
• Family: Brassicaceae
• Life cycle: Annual
• Flower colour: Soft cherry-blossom pink
• Bloom type: Double and single flowers
• Double flowers: approximately 55–60% without selection
• Growth habit: Upright, single stem
• Stem length: approximately 60–70 cm
• Days to flowering: approximately 90–100 days
• Position: Full sun
• Best growing season: Spring and autumn
• Use: Cut flowers, bouquets and professional floristry
• Vase life: approximately 5–10 days
• Fragrance: Strong, sweet-spicy stock fragrance

A Delicate Cherry Blossom Pink

The greatest appeal of Katz Cherry Blossom is its soft, fresh cherry-blossom pink colour.

Rather than a strong hot pink or muted antique rose, Cherry Blossom has a light, delicate and luminous pink appearance inspired by the subtle colouring of spring cherry blossoms. The result is an elegant pastel shade that feels fresh without becoming overly pale.

It combines beautifully with white, cream, blush, apricot, lavender, pale yellow and other shades of pink. It is particularly attractive alongside soft spring flowers and foliage.

For wedding floristry, Cherry Blossom is an especially useful colour because it brings a gentle pink accent without dominating the overall palette.

Professional Stock for Cut Flowers

Katz Cherry Blossom is particularly suited to professional single-stem cut flower production.

The Katz series is known for good uniformity in flowering time and stem development, helping growers produce consistent stems and plan harvests more efficiently.

Plants develop strong, upright flower stems approximately 60–70 cm long, topped with densely arranged, fragrant flowers.

Stock performs particularly well under cool growing conditions, making Katz Cherry Blossom an excellent choice for spring and autumn production as well as greenhouse and tunnel cultivation.

55–60% Double Flowers

Approximately 55–60% of Katz Cherry Blossom plants naturally produce double flowers without seedling selection. The remaining plants produce single flowers.

Growers who want to increase the proportion of double-flowering plants can carry out seedling selection.

At the cotyledon stage, seedlings can be exposed to temperatures of approximately 4–7°C for 3–4 days. After chilling, visual differences between seedlings become easier to identify.

Lighter green seedlings with more oval cotyledons are more likely to develop double flowers, while very small, darker green seedlings with rounder cotyledons are more likely to produce single flowers.

Selection is optional.

Important – Do Not Pinch

Katz Cherry Blossom is a single-stem, one-cut stock variety.

Each plant is grown to produce one primary flowering stem.

Do not pinch the plants.

Removing the growing tip will not encourage the plant to produce several high-quality cut stems and can terminate normal flower development.

For a longer harvest period, make successive sowings approximately every two weeks instead.

Sowing Katz Cherry Blossom

For cut flower production, starting plants indoors in plug trays and transplanting them is recommended.

Sow approximately 5–6 weeks before the planned transplanting date.

Sow about 6 mm deep into a fine, well-drained seed-starting substrate. Professional growers can use 128-cell plug trays.

Maintain a germination temperature of approximately 18–24°C.

Seeds generally germinate within 7–14 days under suitable conditions.

Allow approximately 90–100 days from sowing to flowering, depending on temperature, season and growing conditions.

For a continuous supply of flowers, sow a new succession approximately every two weeks.

Growing Katz Cherry Blossom

Choose a position in full sun with moderately fertile, well-drained soil.

Maintain consistent moisture during growth but avoid waterlogged conditions.

Because Matthiola incana belongs to the Brassicaceae family, young plants can be susceptible to flea beetle damage. Protective row cover can be useful where these pests are common.

For professional production, a horizontal support net can help keep the long stems straight, particularly in windy locations or where rainfall is frequent.

A Cool-Season Favourite

Stock produces its best quality in relatively cool conditions.

Katz Cherry Blossom is particularly suitable for spring and autumn cut flower production. Protected cultivation can help extend the season and provide greater control over stem quality.

Very warm conditions can shorten the flowering period, so choosing the right production window is important when growing premium stems for floristry.

Harvesting for Cut Flowers

Harvest when approximately ⅓–½ of the florets on the flower spike are open.

At this stage, the soft Cherry Blossom colour is clearly visible while the remaining buds can continue opening in the vase.

Under suitable conditions, vase life is approximately 5–10 days.

For short-term cold storage, temperatures of approximately 2–5°C are suitable.

Why Choose Katz Cherry Blossom?

Professional cut flower variety • Delicate cherry-blossom pink • Romantic pastel colour • Intensely fragrant flowers • Long, strong stems • 55–60% double flowers without selection • Early one-cut Katz series • Good uniformity • Excellent for spring and autumn production • Beautiful for wedding flowers and premium bouquets

Katz Cherry Blossom (Matthiola incana) is an excellent choice for growers looking for stock seeds for cut flower production with long stems, wonderful fragrance and an exceptionally versatile soft cherry-blossom pink colour.