Cornflower Blue Ball

Close your eyes and imagine a country cottage garden.  It is slightly wild and utterly charming, overflowing with colour, scent, and the peaceful humming sound of busy pollinators. Which flowers come to mind? Possibly roses, perhaps hollyhocks?... and most definitely cornflowers. No cottage garden would be complete without them.

Once a common sight in cornfields across the UK before the use of herbicides, these brilliant, cobalt blue native flowers are now a rare sight but thankfully live on in our gardens. They are a dream to grow. Easy, prolific (producing endless amounts of flowers over several months if you keep on top of the dead-heading), beloved of butterflies and bees, and will happily self-seed. 

They also make excellent cut flowers, lasting for 5-7 days in a vase.

• Seed Quantity: 400 Seeds
• Type: Annual
• Genus: Centaurea cyanus
• Sow Seeds: Sow in September for larger, stronger plants and/or in March/April.  Can be sown in modules to transplant later or directly into the soil.  Pre-water the soil before sowing.  Sow thinly and cover only very lightly. Do not let the soil dry out.  Grow in poor, well-drained soil and in full sun and it is advisable to grow through some netting as they are prone to flopping over in high winds without support.
• Plant Out: July–October.  Keep cutting and deadheading to encourage more blooms
• Flowers: June-September
• Height & Spread: 60-90 cm high x 30 cm spread

RHS Plants for Pollinators.

The RHS Plants for Pollinators mark is only given to plants that support pollinating insects.