Centaurea montana seeds – (Mountain Bluet, Blue Perennial Cornflower)

Description

This plant forms a bushy mound of greyish – green leaves. It is  a medium growing plant which likes a sunny position. It bears large showy, deeply fringed,  violet blue  flowers in early summer. It will bloom again for you in autumn if you cut it back after its first flowering

This plant is very  hardy, and  will grow in most types of soils and climate regions. It may self-seed , so if you don’t want them, weed them out as you see them. You can  prune the plant back hard in mid-summer to maintain a compact habit. Centaurea Montana makes a good cut flower and a good pot subject.

Sowing advice

Sow spring and early summer , late summer and early autumn
Sow in seed trays or pots in seed raising  mix. Moisten the mix and let it drain.
Cover the seeds with a 1cm layer of soil as centaureas need darkness to germinate.
Cover the containers with clear plastic to keep the mix moist while the seeds are germinating and place in a warm location 16 to 22°C . Germination takes 3 to 4 weeks.
When the seedlings germinate, remove the plastic covers and place in a sunny spot. Keep the soil moist but not soggy.
When seedlings are about 5cm  high and have at least one pair of true leaves, transplant to individual pots to grow on. Transplant when large enough to a sunny or partially shaded spot in the garden- allow 60cm space between plants, and water well.