I have had my E. planum 'Jade Frost' for three years now and am not terribly impressed. The variegated folaige is interesting early on, but like yours the stems always flop to the ground and need staking. The spot I put it is very harsh though, what with all the nearby tree roots and hard packed soil.
Also bought E. planum 'Blue Hobbit' a year ago. Can't tell much about it yet, especially since I had to move it (thankfully didn't disturb the tap root any!).

There is a local park/garden that has E. alpinum. It is lovely and stays upright fine.

Is your soil very rich? That is often an anwer when certain plants flop. Some need poor soil to stand upright. Strange but true! Or maybe too much water or poor-draining soil even??
CMK

it's what you pair it up with which makes this plant interesting. I think you should give it a chance.

I know that Sedum flops if it is not in the sun. Maybe the same is true of Sea Holly.

Are the flowers and foliage on your plant a blue color? I have paired mine with Crocosmia "Lucifer", in the past and the combination is stunning.

-Sprout

Here is a link that might be useful: Crocosmia

The flower stems flopping over doesn't bother me as much as the lack of really (vivid) blue color. Maybe I'm expecting too much! I notice that we're all in z5 or z4, so at least we're probably growing in similar weather conditions.

Both of my clumps are in sandy, poor, dry, acidic soil -- ideal for them, right? lol! One is partially shaded in mid-day and usually doesn't flop as much as the one that is shaded in early morning... but the latter always has far more flowers and is multiplying more rapidly. The flowers on either plant are blue-ish, but they always turn to brown very quickly (seems that way to me, anyway).

It sounds like it's time for me to dig and move them, or remove them.

Thanks for the replies! :)

I planted the 'Hobbit' this summer, then realized it wasn't in a good spot (too short) and moved it -- then, the 100 degree days came and it was my fault for moving it, but then, I didn't have a crystal ball to know that this would be an impossible summer to plant anything new. So, I can't say if I liked it or not.

Echinops 'ritro' (globe thistle) has been in my garden for four years and hasn't spread because the rabbits eat it (not the deer). I forgot to spray it with rabbit repellent before going on vacation this year and they ate it to the ground. It has come back, but hasn't bloomed for the first time since I've owned it. When it blooms, it is a stunning blue. That said, it hates rain and humidity, so I have to cut it back after it blooms.

Cameron

I started maybe a dozen of the Blue Glitter this spring for my cutting garden, but have since taken them out. They were mostly too short for bouquets, not that pretty, I thought, and awfully prickly to handle. Also, they attracted the most nasty assortment of wasps I ever saw.

ThinMan

Hello. I am revisiting this old thread to tell you that my Sea Holly looks great so far this year! We had a very mild winter and in early May the neighbor cut down a Colorado Spruce that was growing to the SW side of it, so it now gets more sun and rain. The leaves are much larger than ever before and so far the flower stems are staying upright. I have no idea when they'll open... everything is out-of-whack due to the wild temps we had in March. I have all new hope for this plant! :)

I have three different kinds - my husband loves them. We have blue glitter which gets about 2.5 feet tall; white glitter, which is new this year and blue hobbit, which is supposedly shorter than the glitters....