How to Grow Cornflower

Cornflower blossoms

Cornflowers, also known as bachelor’s buttons are an intensely blue flower. The cornflower’s small daisy-like blossom floats above the meager narrow gray-green leaves. The plants range in height from eight inches to 32 inches tall. Cornflowers bloom in early to mid-summer and are an excellent choice for the blue-shade in a Fourth of July flowerbed. The informal habit of the cornflower makes it an excellent choice for cottage gardens or informal plantings. Bachelor’s buttons also make good cut flowers and can be included in a cutting garden for floral arrangements. Cornflowers can be effectively combined in mixed plantings with both annuals and perennials. While bachelor buttons are known for their ‘cornflower blue’ they also come in the colors of pink, lavender, maroon, red and white.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Seeds
• Rake
• Trowel or spade
• Watering can or hose
• Clear plastic container (fast food carryout containers or lettuce clam shells from the grocery store work well)

Start from Seed in the Ground

1. Loosen the soil with a rake. Prep the soil in the early spring as soon as the weather permits working it.

2. Scatter the seeds across the soil.

3. Lightly cover with a thin layer of dirt and pat gently.

4. Sprinkle the seeds with water and keep moist.

5. Thin the seedlings to 8 to 12 inches apart.

Winter Sown Seedlings

1. Winter sowing means that you plant the seeds in the winter and put them outside to endure freezing temperatures, snow and ice. Winter sown seedlings are very hardy.

2. Prepare a clear plastic container by poking holes in the bottom and in the lid.

3. Put one to three inches of dirt in the base of the container and thoroughly wet the soil.

4. Sprinkle the seeds on the soil.

5. Press into the soil.

6. Water the seeds.

7. Place the lid securely on the container and place outside (tape the lid on if necessary).

8. Water the container whenever the soil dries out.

9. The seedlings can be transplanted as soon as they have their first true leaves. They are very hardy.

General Requirements

1. Cornflowers are an easy-to-grow hardy annual (a plant that only grows for one season) that readily self-seeds.

2. Bachelor’s buttons require average, well-drained soil and full sunlight.

3. Some garden books suggest that the seedlings can be started indoors however, others say that they do not transplant well. If you wish to start seedlings in a location other than where they are planted, try the wintersown method.

Tips & Warnings

• Cornflowers do not suffer from insects or disease. Their biggest drawback is the weakness of their stems which can cause them to fall over in the wind or if allowed to become too dry. Planting them in mixed plantings will help support them and prevent them from falling over so easily.

• After your first year of cornflowers, do not buy seed again. Their seeds are easy to harvest. The seedpods open up when the seeds are ripe. Watch your plants and as the seed pods begin to open, pick them and extract the seeds to use for next year’s plantings.

Resources

• Basic Instructions for Wintersown Seedlings