Milk Thistle seeds grow easily and produce a hardy biennial that is native to the Mediterranean area and has naturalized throughout North America.
It is very impressive as an ornamental herb plant. It is tall and stately with large, mottled, spiny foliage that contains a milky sap-like substance and large, thistle-like heads of rose-pink flowers.
Milk Thistle herb plants do re-seed themselves, so it is recommended to deadhead the flowers before they set seed. Other common names for this herb plant are Mediterranean Milk Thistle, Marian Thistle, St Mary's Thistle and Holy Thistle.
Grow Milk Thistle seeds directly in the herb garden. Prepare a seedbed and sow the herb seeds in the spring when temperatures have warmed. The Milk Thistle plants prefer full sun, but they are not picky about soils. They are also tolerant of dry and wet soils.
Sow 1 - 2 seeds per plant 1/4 - 1/2 inch deep and space 24 - 36 inches apart keep seeds moist until germination.