Cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus) are a UK native…fabulously simple… extraordinarily beautiful and also easy to raise from seed. In the days before herbicides these cheeky chappies would be seen growing up through the corn fields and annoying farmer Palmer… These more modern times have pushed the native cornflower into very few pockets in the UK and it is now considered a very rare wild flower .
Cornflowers are hardy annuals and as such can be sown in either Autumn, for an earlier show in spring…with much larger plants…and also in the spring, for flowers from June. I sow during both of those periods. Autumn sown cornflowers can easily get to shoulder height by late May.
They make the most excellent cut flowers…and they will keep producing flowers all season long if you keep cutting them. A well managed cornflower bed can give you heaps and heaps of flowers from May until the frosts.
Regular readers to Higgledy Garden will know I have a soft spot for oranges and blues in a tangled combo…Cornflower ‘Blue Ball’ with flowers such as Calendula ‘Indian Prince’ or Nasturtium ‘Scarlet Munchkin’ is a mighty fine sight to behold.
How To Grow Cornflowers From Seed.
*As I outlined earlier, you can sow in Autumn (I sow in September) and also in the spring…I don’t make a sowing until the soil warms up in April, but many folk sow in March and have good results. The seedlings can take a light frost so don’t worry yourselves on that front.
*It is super important to ensure that your cornflower bed is weed free before you sow…and make sure the bed gets lashings of lovely sunshine too.
*Cornflowers LOVE a poor soil and a free draining poor soil is their Holy Grail.
*I sow my seeds in straight drills about a foot apart.
*Autumn sown cornflowers can get HUGE…so support can be a good idea….I lost hundreds of plants in a storm a few seasons ago.
*Thin out your plants when they are a couple of inches tall to a spacing of a foot apart
*Seedlings will happily transplant but best done when they are smaller than your thumb. (It’s my rule of thumb)
Cornflower Trivia: In the ye olden days way back yonder…young men in love would wear blue Cornflowers in their lapels…if the flowers faded then it was seen as a sign that their love would fade also. In some parts of Russia…the blue dye is extracted from cornflowers and used to dye Vodka blue.
I can’t recommend cornflowers enough for your cut flower garden…especially for beginners as they are so ‘bullet proof’. Not just Cornflower ‘Blue Ball’ but also the deep crimson ‘Black Ball’ which is a more contemporary flower…great when shown or grown with pale flowers such as Didiscus ‘Lacy’ or Cosmos ‘Purity’.
I sell Cornflowers ‘Blue Ball’at £1.95 for 450ish seeds.
I hope you cornflowers are going well for you this season…best of luck!
Regards
Benjamin Higgledy
PS The RHS have a brief guide to Cornflowers…though obviously it isn’t as good as mine. ;)
June 10, 2014 @ 5:37 pm
Hello!
I grew cornflowers last year from seed and I loved it. We did the same this year but I wonder why they’re blooming even though they’re less than a foot tall. Last year, they were 50-60cm before blooming. What have I done wrong? I spaced them the same as last year. I live in sweden. It’s summer now. Could the planting or sowing month affect the bloom time? I was a month late this year.
July 18, 2013 @ 5:33 pm
Hi, I’m growing corn flowers for the first time and would like advice re cutting them: How low on the plant should one cut given that there are lots of new unopened buds quite close to the open flower at the head of the stem?
Thanks.
July 19, 2013 @ 7:10 am
I always cut the first few stems quite short..usually the first bud to flower is the centre stem. Cut it at a junction or just above a point where leaves appear on the stem. In a couple of weeks time you will find that many more flowers are in bloom at the same time and you can cut them much longer without sacrificing unopened buds. :)
July 16, 2013 @ 1:30 pm
Hi
Would be grateful if you could tell me what to do – an enormous dog has sat onmy
Gorgeous cornflowers and flattened them completely……! Should I cut them back
– how far down. -or must I start again? THANKS
July 16, 2013 @ 2:10 pm
you could try cutting them right back and they will have a chance of another flush…but also as cornflowers are hardy you can sow some more in late August or September and have some early next year. I hope you had the vicious creature detained?
July 17, 2013 @ 10:51 am
Thanks – will try that -and also be ordering more
June 16, 2013 @ 5:10 pm
My beautiful Cornflowers have doen there thing and are now looking decidedly droopy! So what do i do with them now, do i cut them back? will they produce more flower after this first lot? Thanks for your help.
June 16, 2013 @ 7:53 pm
yes…keep cutting them and they will keep producing flowers. :)
June 13, 2013 @ 6:53 pm
Hi Ben,
I’m getting very excited, as my cornflowers are beginning to….flower, but as I always do as I’m told, I put netting across the flowerbed and got myself in a bit of a tangle when I cut the stems. I can see this being even more of a prob when it comes to Amni etc. If you’ve got any words of wisdom on the subject I’d welcome them!
Just one more cheeky (slightly unrelated) question…how did deweed your plot at the start, we’re having a nightmare!!
Thanks,
Chris
PS. Love the Higgledy range of seeds.
June 13, 2013 @ 7:05 pm
Are you using pea netting…with the BIG holes…like 3.5 inches across? Shouldn’t be too much of a problem…if it is being an issue then why not just use string…either in straight tight lines, simply ‘hemming’ them in…or zig zagged through. All my spring sown plants are still quite small…if I give them support I will place the netting above them and let them grow through…simples!
Weeding…your bed will have fewer and fewer weeds every year…one just has to keep on top of it. One tip is to hoe it off before sowing…leave it two weeks then hoe again…taking care not to disturb the soil deeply…this will keep most at bay. Once your plants become established they will out compete the weeds and all will be well in flower bed land.
Stay strong!!! You will be victorious…and all will be much easier next year. :)