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CORNFLOWER GUIDES

pink, blue and purple flowering cornflowers growing outside in a field

Container GrowingGrowing From Seed

Cornflowers are pop plants for beds , margin and wildflower meadows .

They are incredibly well-heeled and low - sustainment yearly to grow in your garden and are grand for the wildlife with whom you divvy up your infinite .

an opened packet of cornflower centaurea dealbata seeds

Cornflowers are simply sown in spring , straightaway where they are to grow .

Commonly , they are sown alongside other annual meadow flora like corn whiskey , marigolds , and poppies to make an one-year hayfield display .

you may also straightaway sow them as companion plants in a vegetable garden .

blue cornflowers growing in a wildflower display with yellow, white and red flowering plants outdoors in front of a raised garden bed

When To Sow

The semen should be sow in spring or at the end of September .

However , I would recommend that cornflower seeds should be directly sown where they are to flowerin March or April .

1) Prepare The Site

If you are interested increating an yearly hayfield areaor you are sowing wild flower in your garden , you might have to sow in seeds every year even though many of the flora self - seed .

These planting dodging make stunning displays of colour throughout 3 - 4 month of the class .

You will involve to make certain that you have a clear and weed - free area in full sun .

hand holding cornflower seeds in front of a potting bench

“ Fork the soil to the depth of the ramification ’s tines to see to it skilful drain and then lightly scan back level , ” pronounce Peter Lickorish , a Lecturer on Horticulture at Bedford College .

“ The nerveless blues , purples and lily-white tint of Centaurea cyanus can be cabbage by planting colour that sit opposite them in the colour wheel , such as yellow and orange .

“ Californian poppy fit this scheme and so do Eremurus , the foxtail grass lily , which could be planted bare - root into the same grime shape as strawflower , at the same time as spring sowings .

a propagation tray with pods labelled ‘Cornflower’

“ Alternatively , take a mixed seed pack or a variety of cultivars . ”

2) Sow The Seeds

If you are sowing cornflowers as part of a more consistent bed or boundary line , you might care to sow the seed in rows .

However , in most cases , cornflowers look best when broadcast over an country and covered over lightly using a rake .

“ Tamp down the soil with the back of the rake to secure effective integration , ” suggest Peter .

cornflower plants growing in a garden bed

Should you wish you may also grow Centaurea cyanus seminal fluid in generation tray , though this is normally not necessary .

recollect , you might expend a corn field annual meadow mix , with cornflowers combine with other seed .

“ If there is a lot of grass in the seed mix , a wretched stain is practiced , to restrict eatage growth , ” Peter add .

close-up of the blue flowering head of a cornflower plant growing outside in front of orange flowering wildflowers

3) Keep The Soil Moist

Make certain that you keep the soil moist during juiceless patch until seeds germinate and while planting is young .

Other than this , cornflowers will require small upkeep .

In ornamental beds or borders , you could game magniloquent , wiry cultivars in exposed locations , and deadhead in summer to prolong the menses of bloom .

However , in general , you may simply check and enjoy through the summer months then allow for flowers to set seed towards the conclusion of the season as a feast forgarden birds .