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I've been growing cornflowers in my garden since 2017, I can't image my garden without them now. I use them to fill up bare spaces and to create a micro wildflower meadow. The bees and other pollinators love them, and the birds, especially gold finches, can't devour the seeds quick enough.
Cornflowers are beautiful blue wildflowers that are easy to grow. They bloom in the summer and have slender, wiry stems topped with ruffled flowers. Cornflowers are not native to the UK, but they have been growing here for thousands of years.
Cornflowers used to be very common in fields of grain. They were even considered weeds, along with corn poppy, corn marigold and corncockles! But thanks to pesticides, cornflowers are now rare in the wild. But don't worry, you can still grow them in your garden! Cornflowers are very popular with pollinators, so they are a great addition to any wildlife garden. And cornflower blooms are edible too! You can use the petals to garnish salads and other dishes.
The original species of cornflower is deep blue in colour, but there is now a wider variety of colours, including shades of blue, pink, maroon, and white. They grow upright and can reach heights of up to 120cm. The taller varieties make great cut flowers, and cornflowers are generally easy to grow. They bloom for up to three months in the summer, and as annuals, they complete their life cycle in one growing season. Cornflowers may self-sow their seeds to bloom again the following year, but they are not invasive and any unwanted seedlings can be easily pulled out.
Cornflowers are easy for kids to grow! You can plant them on their own, or mix them with other cornfield annuals. Just sow the seeds directly into the soil and rake them over lightly. Then, wait for them to flower in about 10 weeks.
Cornflowers love the sun and well-drained soil. To grow them, just sow the seeds directly into weed-free ground or into pots in the spring. Thin out the seedlings so that they have enough room to grow. After that, cornflowers are pretty low-maintenance. Just deadhead the spent blooms to encourage more flowers.
Cornflowers are beautiful and easy-to-grow flowers that can be used to fill in bare spots in your garden, create a wildflower meadow, or even grow in pots. They prefer well-drained soil and at least half a day of sun. Cornflowers do best in soil with low fertility, so there's no need to add fertilizer or organic matter.
If you're growing cornflowers in pots, use a general-purpose, peat-free potting compost mixed with a third by volume of coarse grit. Shorter-growing varieties are best for pots, as taller ones tend to flop without support. Cornflowers bloom for around 10-12 weeks, which is shorter than many other summer-flowering bedding plants.
The best way to sow cornflower seeds is directly in the ground where you want them to grow. But if you're not ready to do that yet, you can start them in seed trays and transplant them to the garden in the spring. Just be sure to space the plants 15cm apart, so they have enough room to grow.
Once the cornflowers have finished blooming, you can deadhead them to encourage more blooms. Once they stop blooming altogether, you can either pull them up and compost them, or leave them to self-seed and provide food for birds like goldfinches.
Cornflowers usually reseed themselves, but if you want to save the seeds, you can collect them from the faded flowers in autumn. Put the seeds in an envelope and store them in a cool, dry place.
In the spring, sow the seeds 0.5cm deep, either in rows or by scattering them and raking them lightly to cover with soil. Thin out the seedlings to 10-15cm apart. Sowing several times throughout the spring will give you a succession of flowers through the summer.
If you can't sow your cornflower seeds outdoors because of the weather or the ground conditions, you can start them indoors in seed trays or small pots. Just place the trays or pots in an unheated greenhouse.
Cornflowers are generally trouble-free to grow.
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