Cornflower "Blue Diadem"

Garden cornflower "Blue diadem" - Centaurea cyanus.
Favorite flower of many peoples of the world: a beautiful, graceful and touching weed...
Terry, spherical inflorescences of blue cornflowers. Plants 70-80 cm high.
Double flowers are collected in inflorescences-baskets, blooming from June to September, which look great both in tall flower borders and cut.

* Blue cornflower is an annual or sometimes biennial plant with a taproot. The stem is erect, branches only from the middle. Its height depends on growing conditions and ranges from 20 to 80 cm.
The stem is covered with fine hairs, so it appears silvery in the light. The leaves are entire, narrow (lanceolate), pointed, slightly pubescent. Baskets with a diameter of 2.5-4 cm.
Beautiful and multi-row, ovoid wrapper with a fringed edge. The marginal flowers are funnel-shaped, in natural species they are bright blue, in varieties they can be white, pink, red.
The median flowers are tubular, blue or blue-violet. Seeds are numerous, with a fluffy tuft. Seeds spill out onto the ground and give abundant self-sowing.
In 1 g 250-300 seeds remain viable for 2-3 years.
The name comes from the Greek word "kentaurion", and is given in honor of the famous mythological centaur Chiron, who knew the healing properties of herbs, including cornflowers. According to another version, the Latin name "centaurea" is translated as "one hundred yellow flowers". Despite the fact that we are used to blue cornflowers, they are white, yellow, pink and purple.
Blooms from June until frost.
It is very undemanding, grows well on both wet and dry soils, which is why it is so widely distributed throughout the world. In culture, there are terry and semi-double forms.
The most beautiful cornflowers during flowering. All of them, except Marshall's cornflower, bloom from late June to late August, but especially abundantly in July.
Cornflowers bloom for a long time: 40-45 days.
During the fruiting period (August-September), their decorative effect decreases, therefore it is recommended to cut off the faded shoots, except for those that are left to collect seeds from them.


Jane Webb Loudon.

Eng.: Garden cornflower, bachelor's buttons, blue cap, bluebottle, bluebow, hurtsickle. Bot.syn.: Cyanus segetum Hill.