Cornflowers were once a common sight, along with other species such as Field Poppy, in our arable fields. But due to cleaner seed banks and tidying of cultivated land and pasture, this lovely little field flower is now a very rare sight indeed in the UK. It is an arable species, which is now highly protected in Britain, so if you happen to stumble across one growing amongst a field margin or grassy patch, then don’t pick it!
Its not all bad news for this striking blue perennial though, rumour has it that there are a few remaining protected sites around the UK where cornflowers may appear but whether they are native or cultivated is another matter; in Europe as a whole, the cornflower has a stable population. Cornflower seeds are hardly little chaps and you may find a patch of cornflowers appear in previously unknown areas, such as building sites or newly built road verges, as the disturbance can trigger the seed to germinate.
Latin name: Centaurea cyanus
Identification
- Plant Height: 15-35 Inches
- Leaves:The leaves are a greyish green, narrow and lanceolate shaped. It’s leaves can be between 1-4cms in length, 5mm wide and occur sporadically along the plants branched stem.
- Flowers: The flower head is an assemblage of tiny, blue flowers, clustered together to create a seemingly bigger flower with a flat top.
- Habitat found: Very rare in the UK and usually seen in a cultivated form.
- Flowering time:May to August
- Attracts: Butterflies and bees
In The Garden
When sowing cultivated Cornflower seeds in the garden, between March and May, its best to sprinkle them in an area of the garden that has full sunlight. Cornflowers like well-drained soil, preferably a clay, chalky or alkaline substrate but can grow pretty much in any soil type!
Did you know?
This brilliant blue beauty used to be found in number in arable fields (commonly known as corn fields), growing with crops, such as barley and oats. This gave rise to its name of Cornflower. As well as its familiar name of Cornflower this striking plant also has a host of wonderful colloquial names such as bachelor’s button, bluebottle and hurt sickle, as when harvesting the crops, it’s tough stems where know to blunt reapers sickles. Also in folklore, it was said that if a young man in love wore a Cornflower, if it faded too quickly, it was taken as a sign that his love was not being returned!