Blue cornflower (Centaurea Cyanus) seeds produce vivid blue wildflowers known as cornflowers or bachelor’s buttons. Bees love these flowers and so will you!

Our seeds yield hardy, low-maintenance, drought-tolerant plants valued for their true blue flowers.

Use cornflowers as filler in floral arrangements or as a pretty, colorful garnish on desserts or cold beverages. Or just enjoy them where they grow outside!

Cornflowers are ideal for naturalizing gardens, wildflower fields, cottage gardens as well as generally supporting pollinators of all kinds.

One packet contains a minimum of 100 seeds.

About Cornflowers:

• Annual or perennial: Annual
• Plant Height: 18-24 inches
• Flower color: Blue
• Edible flowers? Yes!
• Deer resistant? Yes!
• Do bees like them? Yes!
• Suitable for USDA growing zones: 3-10
• Where to plant: Well-draining soil in full sun
• Time from seed to bloom: 8-12 weeks depending on growing conditions
• Common uses: Cut flowers, edible flowers, pollinator support, naturalization and meadowscraping.

How to plant Cornflower (AKA Bachelor’s Buttons) seeds:

Cornflowers are some of the easiest flowers to grow! They are easy to plant and generally very low maintenance. 

Should you start seeds inside? No. Cornflowers grow quickly and do best when planted directly outdoors.

Where to plant:  Cornflowers prefer to grow in full sun but will tolerate partial shade. 

Soil requirements: Plant cornflowers in just about any kind of soil that is well-draining (they do not like to be soggy!).

When to plant: Plant cornflowers any time between early spring and late summer. Spring-planted cornflowers typically give more blooms than later planted seeds as older plants will often give a second flush of flowers if cut back.

The earliest you should plant cornflower seeds: in early spring as soon as soil is no longer frozen and is easy to work. You do not need to be past your last frost date but you should be past the time you typically expect a hard freeze.

The latest you should plant cornflower seeds: Give plants a minimum of 9-12 weeks to grow and bloom before your expected first frost.

Seed planting depth: Sprinkle seeds over loosened soil. Lightly rake soil over seeds. Keep seeds and planting area moist until plants are at least 4 inches tall.

Watering requirements: Keep seeds and young plants watered regularly. Plants become more resilient and drought tolerant as they grow.

Cornflowers often thrive on an area’s natural rain cycle but will love you if you give them a drink if it’s very hot or if they’ve gone more than a week or so without any rain.

To maximize number of blooms, water plants once or twice a week. 

Other maintenance and care tips: While not required, your cornflowers will give you more blooms if you cut or pick mature or faded blooms. I personally like to pick mature flowers to use their petals as a colorful garnish in iced beverages. They also give a nice pop of color to loose leaf tea blends when dried.

If blooming slows down after a significant flush of flowers on spring-planted plants, cut stems back to half their height. They may give you an entire second flush of flowers before dying back in the fall!