If you want to enjoy beautiful splashes of purple color in your garden and bed, you can quickly grab this Mediterranean wildflower. In the past it gained some fame as a medicinal plant and as a nuisance weed. Now it is primarily considered an easy-care garden decoration and gives the green area a rustic touch. How to plant and care for the cornflower, as well as other important information, is provided in the following article.
Growing and caring for cornflower – everything you need to know about the fabulous wild plant
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Cornflower in the garden: short plant portrait
The cornflower, also called cyan, originally comes from the southeastern Mediterranean. It belongs to the genus of knapweed (Centaurea) and belongs to the Asteraceae family (Asteraceae) assigned. The specimen spread throughout Europe as early as the Middle Ages and is currently an immediate part of the local plant repertoire for the garden. The blue splendor grows low and reaches a maximum height of 80 cm. It forms beautiful blue flakes in the bed, but also exists in other white, crimson and pink color variations. The cornflower is an excellent pasture for bees and contributes to the pollination of garden plants.
Weed or medicinal plant? The knapweed gives home gardens a rustic touch and is planted specifically
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Are cornflowers annual or perennial? When is the flowering time?
The small, herbaceous plant is an annual and reproduces by seeds that are spread by the wind. The new generation of cornflowers will grow from self-sowing next year. Cornflowers used to be a nuisance weed that mostly appeared in grain fields. The blue flower competed with crops and had to be combated proactively. Nowadays, nitrogen fertilizers and herbicides are mostly used against cornflowers in agriculture. The plant’s affinity for fields with grain also explains the plant’s popular name.
Cyanides are extremely easy to care for and are considered weeds in grain fields
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Cornflowers are not hardy, but as permanent bloomers they delight the eye with their splendor of flowers from April to October.
Planting cornflowers – tips for sowing and care
If you want to cultivate cornflowers in the bed or in the garden, you can purchase seeds from the garden shop. If you want to sow cornflowers again, you should harvest the seeds from the faded specimens at the end of the vegetation. They are located in a seed capsule in the middle of the inflorescence. The best time to plant outdoors is between March and July and sowing is fairly easy. The seeds must not be placed too deeply in the soil, but rather positioned on the surface and covered with a thin layer of substrate. Sow in groups, leaving 30cm between plants. Cornflower germination is rapid and can take up to 2 weeks. Moisten the area in the garden with water without overwatering.
The flower has a fuzzy shape
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The right location and soil
The easy-care plant requires only the minimum of care and is ideal for planting in garden areas with poor soil. The substrate should be well-drained and slightly calcareous – in all cases not too nutrient-rich. As far as the location is concerned, it should be sunny. There is no question of fertilizing cornflowers.
Are special watering and pruning required?
You should only water cornflowers in midsummer and during droughts. Otherwise, the wild plant does quite well outdoors without any special care. Although the flowering period is very long, the individual specimens wilt quickly and the dead flowers should therefore be cleaned out. This also affects the flower stalks of the faded cyanides and stimulates new waves of flowers.
Pests of cornflower
Occasionally the cornflower can suffer from an infestation of spider mites and, in very humid and warm weather, powdery mildew.
Intense splashes of color in the lawn
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Cornflowers in a pot
Cornflowers can be sown and cultivated as annuals in the form of mixed cultures with other ornamental plants. In principle, such specimens are also cast more frequently. There is no need to feed cyanides with flower fertilizer and they complement the main plants in the flower box quite effectively.
Which are the best partner plants for cornflowers?
Mixed sowing of cornflowers and other plants is available commercially. The small-growing beauty forms beautiful looking partnerships in the lawn and in flower pots with daisies, red poppies, white yarrow and mallow plants.
A real feast for the eyes as a mixed culture with poppies
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Is the cornflower poisonous?
Cornflowers were previously used in medicine, but today the healing effects of the wild herb are more widespread. However, the specimen is by no means poisonous and is used in cuisine as an edible decoration for desserts, delicacies and salads. Cornflowers have a delicate scent and taste slightly spicy when eaten.
2023-11-10 16:41:40
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