Centaurea cyanus (Cornflower) seeds

Much loved native British cornfield annual with beautiful intensely blue flowers which sadly has declined greatly in numbers in the wild.  Grow with Corn Chamomile, Field Poppy, Corncockle and Corn Marigold to create a classic annual cornfield wildflower meadow.  You can even sow just a small patch or in a tub if space is limited - every little bit helps in the effort to restore more of our native flora!  Very easy to grow, sow outdoors and they will self seed year after year.  

Hardy Annual
Flowers: June to August
Height: 30-60cm
Position: Sun in well, drained soil

Packet of 200 seeds

RHS Plants for Pollinators. 

The RHS Plants for Pollinators mark is only given to plants that support pollinating insects. Find out more at rhs.org.uk/plantsforpollinators

GROWING GUIDE

Seeds can be sown outdoors where they are to flower during spring or autumn,  or indoors at any time.

Indoors

Sow on the surface of moist, free-draining seed compost in pots or seed trays and just cover with a very thin sprinkling of compost.  Propagate at 15 to 20 C in a propagator or on a windowsill shaded from direct sun.  Germination should begin within about 3 weeks but can sometimes be slow and erratic so patience might be needed!

When the seedlings emerge, grow them on at a slightly cooler temperature and pot them up when they have their second set of leaves into 9cm pots.

Harden the plants off by placing them outdoors during the day for 10 days before planting out after the last frosts.

Outdoors

Prepare bare soil or bare patches in grass by digging out weeds/grass and raking over.  Water well, leave for a few weeks and dig out any new weeds/grass. Scatter seeds on the surface and press lightly into soil.  Water with a fine spray/mist.  Remove any obvious weeds as they appear and keep area well watered in dry weather.

Cut down plants in autumn after they have set seed and remove any weeds. Rake over any bare patches and firm the soil.   New plants will emerge in spring.