Centaurea Imperialis The Bride

A Cottage Garden favourite with large, sweetly scented fluffy white flowers that look both stunning in the border and are absolutely brilliant for cutting too. 24”. HA.

How to Grow Centaurea or Cornflower

No matter what you call them, cornflowers, bachelor’s buttons, basket flower, or even the old-fashioned blue-bottle, Centaurea are a wonderful addition to any garden. Centaureas are very easy to grow from seed started indoors or out and the taller varieties are useful in cutting gardens.

Cornflowers look good as part of an informal or wildflower garden and are especially attractive interplanted with red poppies and snapdragons

Centaurea seed can be sown from February to May or from September to November for over-wintering.

Sow seeds indoors about one month before you want to plant the seedlings outdoors. To start cornflower seeds indoors, fill individual pots, trays or compostable growing cells with moist seed compost. Sow the seeds then and cover with a 1cm, or half inch layer of compost. Centaurea needs darkness to germinate.

Use a fine spray to moisten the surface compost then cover the trays to retain moisture until the seeds are germinate. Germination of perennial cornflowers takes 21 to 28 days at 60 – 70F, annual cornflowers are faster, typically taking 7 to 14 days.

Centaureas grow best if you transplant them to the garden before they are taller than four inches.

Seed can be sown outdoor directly into the garden in mid spring or autumn. Sow in blocks or short rows, half an inch deep , protect from birds and slugs initially and keep moist.

Annual cornflowers perform best when they are slightly crowded, space plants between 6 and 12 inches apart. Perennial cornflowers need a little more space and should be planted 2 to 3 feet apart.