Cornflower
Centaurea cyanus
Common Name: Cornflower
Genus: Centaurea
Species: cyanus
Category: Wildflowers
Height: 0.30 m (30 cm)
Spread: 0.20 m (20 cm)
Hardiness: Hardy
Growth Rate: Average
Flowering Period: June to August
Long Flowering Period
Foliage Type: Deciduous
Foliage Colour: Green
Flower Colour: Blue
Sun/Shade: Full sun
Soil Type: Normal/Loam or Sandy/Light or Chalky/Alkaline
Soil Moisture: Dry, well drained
Features: Good for wildlife, Long flowering period
Piercing bright blue flowers with ruffled petals and violet-blue centres apear from early to late summer among lance-shaped mid-green leaves. Once a common sight in cornfields this lovely annual is perfect for naturalising in a sunny wildflower meadow and is a magnet for butterflies and bees. Profits from these seeds are used to protect existing wildflower areas and develop potential new sites.
- Garden care: Wild flowers prefer poor soils so do not apply fertiliser. Deadhead regularly to prolong flowering. In autumn cut the faded flowerheads down to the ground and compost the dead stems.
Similar Plants:
Perennial Cornflower
Centaurea montana
Knapweed
Centaurea macrocephala
Mountain knapweed
Centaurea montana 'Alba'
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