Bachelor's Button: Plant Care & Growing Guide, How to Grow Bachelor Button.
Gardeners looking for a true blue color in a flower can't go wrong with the old-fashioned annual bachelor's button.The double flowers look like miniature carnations with small blooms, but they are much easier to grow.
The native European and Asian grassland flower, Centaurea cyranus, was largely eradicated by the use of modern pesticides.If kept in check, bachelor's button can easily escape and naturalize.Every gardener needs at least one can't-fail plant in the flower garden, and this lightly fragrant flower belongs in every beginner's landscape.
The flowers can grow to a height of 48 inches and a spread of up to six inches.The flowers are dense and come from last spring through the summer.The plant has bright blue flowers, but there are also other colors to choose from.
Around the time of last frost, Bachelor's button can be planted by seeds or nursery transplants.For quicker flowering in colder climates, seeds are usually started indoors six to eight weeks before the last frost.
Bachelor's buttons are very easy to grow from seeds and can be purchased as nursery transplants.The buttons are easy to maintain.Plants that flop are usually more of a problem in shaded gardens.Coneflowers act as natural supports for the stems, so you can grow them among other sturdy perennials.
Bachelor's buttons bloom for about 10 weeks from May to July, but deadheading them increases the bloom.The bloom time can be extended by seeding additional times every two weeks.If you cut the blossoms before they start to rot, you can make great dried flowers.
Pull up the plants as frost kills them to remove debris that can be a breeding ground for pests.When the bloom time has ended, you can remove the plants.
There are no serious insect or disease problems with the Bachelor's button.They can experience a lot of problems in wet and humid conditions.
Bachelor's buttons do well with a bit of shade in the afternoon, but prefer full sun.The plants are prone to flopping if the conditions are shady.
Provide well-drained garden soil.The bachelor's buttons prefer soil with a pH of 7.2 to 7.8.If your soil is acidic, you can add crushed limestone to the garden beds.
In the hottest months of July and August, the equivalent of 1 inch of water is given to bachelor's buttons.
Bachelor's buttons can tolerate both light freezes and the hottest summer days.They'll tolerate humidity, but keep a close eye on them, as it leaves them vulnerable to disease.
If your soil is poor, fertilize your bachelor's buttons monthly with liquid manure or compost tea.You won't need to feed them in good soil.
Most people are drawn to the vibrant blue of bachelor's buttons, but why not explore other options?
The plants have picked up many common names along the way, including a basket flower, a bluebonnet, blue bottle, and a corn flower.There are perennial species that look very similar and carry the same name as the bachelor's button.C. montana is a garden perennial.The perennial C. montana is sometimes referred to as "cornflower" in the garden trade.
The differences are apparent when viewed side by side.The annual C. cyanus has a rich blue color, but the flowers have single petals that give them a wispy appearance, and they have a darker, reddish purple center.The lance-shaped leaves are larger than the annual bachelor's button, and the plants are a little shorter.The bloom season of perennial C. montana ends a little earlier.
There is no great challenge to propagating bachelor's button, as you might expect from a plant that self-seeds so readily.You can simply collect seeds from the dried flower heads and store them until planting time.
If you haven't carefully deadheaded spent flowers the previous season, it's easy to dig up and transplant any self-seeding volunteers that spring up in the garden.