Looking for easy flowers? Bachelor's buttons come in a range of shades in blue, pink, and purple! Lorin Nielsen explains these easy annuals and provides all the tips you need to grow them for a beautiful wild garden.One of my favorite flowers, bachelor’s buttons, is sometimes called cornflowers. And from there, the color “cornflower blue” derives its name!
Also called basket flowers, blue bonnets, blue cap, and many other names, this popular plant is a hardy annual. It blooms in an array of color from early spring through the fall months. Leave some of the spent flowers on the plant, and it’ll happily reseed its bed and grow again next year.
But what are bachelor’s buttons, and are they all blue? Do they prefer sunlight or shade? How much water do they need? We’ll cover all this and more today as we explore the world of the bachelor’s buttons!Botanically, it’s called Centaurea cyanus and commonly called bachelor button, blue cornflower, or bachelor’s buttons. This name refers to old folklore. Young love-struck men would wear them on their lapels. If the early flowering bloom faded fast, it was thought the object of their desire didn’t love them.Bachelor’s button has a long list of names, including unusual ones like blue blob, corn bottle, gogglebuster, and hurt sickle. One name, cornflower, originated from the tendency of these plants to grow as native plants in European cornfields. It is also found naturally in areas of the Middle East.
While declining in its natural habitat, the growth of this plant worldwide has expanded via gardens designed for cut flowers. Many varieties are blue. However, bachelor’s buttons can be pink, purple, and white as well.
This annual’s self-sowing tendency has caused them to become listed on the USDA’s list of introduced, invasive, and noxious plants. North Carolina has become so plagued by it that selling its seeds or live plants is prohibited in that state! Try planting in a container if you live in this plant’s invasive area.Grey-green or silvery-green slender foliage with long, lanceolate leaves forms the base upon which bright flowers form. It can reach up to three feet in height and can sprawl out one to two feet wide. The greyish or silvery tint is actually caused by fine white hairs on the leaves.
Their edible flowers can be used in salads as a touch of added color. Petals are often dried and added to loose tea blends for a pop of color. In addition, the flowers are a historical pigment or dye source for painting or dyeing fabric.To plant bachelor’s buttons, choose a spot with full sun and well-draining soil. Loosen the soil to a depth of six to eight inches and mix in compost to enrich it. Sow the seeds directly outdoors after the last frost, spacing them six to eight inches apart.
Cover the seeds lightly with about a quarter of an inch of soil, and water gently to keep the soil evenly moist until germination, which usually takes seven to ten days. Once established, the plants require little care, though occasional watering during dry spells will help them thrive.