Bachelor's Button Seeds
Centaurea cyanus
Annual. Summer bloom. Full sun. Drought tolerant. The sky blue flowers of this tall plant are attractive as cut or dried flowers. Will "naturalize" - the seed drops quite readily from mature plants and comes back next year to produce another crop. Plants get too vegetative and have fewer flowers when grown in rich, over-fertilized soils. In other words, the worse the soil, the better!
Tips on How to Grow Bachelor�s Buttons (Coneflower)
Germination: in 6-10 days
Direct Sow: Bachelor buttons are easy to grow from seeds outdoors. Sow in spring, 1 to 2 weeks before the last expected frost, for early summer blooms. They can also be sown in fall in mild climates for early spring blooms.
Sow seeds: 1/4 inch deep and 1 inch apart. The seeds need complete darkness to germinate, so make sure they are well covered. When seedlings are 1 to 2 inches tall, thin them to 6 to 8 inches apart. The first blooms appear 10 to 12 weeks after planting, and last for about a month. Successive plantings can extend the bloom period.
GARDEN HINTS: Bachelor's buttons bloom best in cool weather and will tolerate poor soil conditions. Make successive sowings for continuous blooming. Plants are drought and frost tolerant.
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