Okey dokey...maybe I only grow three hundred BUT this would be near the top no matter what. Any form of E. reichenbachii is superb, and this is a supremely variable plant worth growing en masse and abundantly. It is unquestionably the toughest and hardiest hedgehog: I have had them live for decades in containers. This is the tiniest and most wonderful form of all: and it may be extinct in its limited range in Oklahoma (where all the best forms occur). This picture may have been taken by my good friend David Winger: I have been photographing this plant since it had only one or two stems. This year it's twice as big: hope I'm there the day when it blooms this year: it may have twice as many flowers too. In Colorado we have var. perbellus, which is small, but still bigger than this. Our colonies have dwindled in the last decade due to drought and predation: and many are in the path of urban development in Pueblo (alas). This thrives in traditional rock gardens provided it gets lots of sun...
