Cornflower blue: description, cultivation and application, the best flower varieties

Cornflowers have been known to gardeners since ancient times. In Rus', these wild flowers were considered a symbol of innocence and devotion. Since the 60s of the XX century, the blue cornflower has been the national pride of Estonians. Thanks to breeders, various varieties with new shades of petals have appeared. Cornflowers attract gardeners not only with their unpretentious care and richness of colors, but also with their healing properties. The flowers of the plant have an anti-inflammatory effect.

Flower description

Blue cornflower is an annual or biennial plant from the Astrov family. Its Latin name is Centaurea cyanus.Also, the flower is known under the popular names of voloshka, blue flower, rye color, bruise. Cornflower is found in the nature of the central regions of the European part of Russia, grows on the edges of Siberian forests, in the Caucasus and Central Asia. His homeland is the south of Europe.

Unpretentious plant grows in the fields like a weed, and is able to displace cereal crops. Resistance to environmental conditions is a feature of perennial cornflowers. They survive in heat and cold, rarely get sick, reproduce easily and bloom for a long time.

Cornflower winters in the fields like winter wheat. There are no unwanted neighbors in the garden plot for the field dweller, but care must be taken that he does not take territory from other flowers.

Plant size

Cornflower grows on average about a meter high. The flower rises above other plants due to the long stem. Some species need to be tied up.

Plant parameters:

Flower part	Length
Stem	From 20 to 100 centimeters, reaching 1.5 meters in large varieties
Inflorescence	20-25 millimeters
Leaves	3-10 centimeters

Among the seven hundred species of cornflower, there are tall and creeping plants. The inflorescences are located on hard thin stems, so the flowers seem to cover the field or garden with a blue veil.

What flowers look like

The bud of an unopened cornflower has a rounded shape. Bracts with a jagged border are colored green, come with black, brown or white edges.

Flowers are formed at the ends of the lateral branches of the stem.On one disk there are 25-35 small inflorescences, which together form a bud. In the central part of the disk there are small bisexual inflorescences of a purple hue, and on the outer part - asexual, larger, blue ones.

Depending on the variety, cornflower flowers are dense and massive, light like a dandelion or similar to pom-poms. The bright color of the petals is due to the abundance of protocyanin glycoside, a mild toxin. In herbal medicine, less saturated marginal inflorescences are used.

Cornflower blue blooms in the summer months, and with good care in September. The plant produces a fruit - a seed box 4-5 millimeters long. It has an oblong rounded shape, bright yellow, blue or gray color. The seeds are grayish-blue in color and covered with small villi. Ripe seeds scatter in the wind.

Cornflower leaves

The stem of the plant is covered with tough foliage. Winter cornflowers form dense rosettes, covering the soil and wheat.

The length of the leaves is from 3 to 20 centimeters. At the roots, they are covered with notches at the edges and are larger, and higher along the stem they have solid edges. The color is green, with a bluish tint, less often silvery. The shape of the cornflower leaves is lanceolate, linear, pinnately lobed at the roots, trifoliate.

The upper leaves are covered with a light pile, attached directly to the stem without cuttings. The lower ones are held on cuttings, but fall off first.

Fit tips

Cornflower is a photophilous plant. In shaded areas, it produces long stems and produces small flowers. Even the soft cornflower, which is tolerant of shade, eventually becomes smaller. Under strong gusts of wind, the flower will stand, but bend down to the ground.

A field plant does not like stagnant water in the soil and the leaves of its neighbors hanging over it, obscuring the sun. Therefore, when choosing a site for planting blue cornflower, it is important to consider the following points:

• bright lighting;
• lack of sprawling bushes and trees nearby;
• light loamy, moderately moist soil or good drainage;
• wind protection.

Cornflowers are planted in rows or in a checkerboard pattern, grown in pots. The optimal distance between plants in open ground is 10-20 centimeters. In prefabricated arrangements, flowers are planted at the edges to give more light.

Expert opinionZarechny Maxim ValerievichAgronomist with 12 years of experience. Our best gardening expert.Ask a QuestionCornflower blue is grown from seeds. Favorable time for landing is April, October. In spring, the seeds are laid in the soil when it is freed from excess moisture from the thaw and warms up to +10 degrees. Flowers planted in autumn bloom earlier.

Step by step instructions

Planting blue cornflower begins with soil preparation.The site for spring planting can be prepared in the fall. If the soil is too acidic, an alkalizing mixture of ash and chalk is prepared, with the addition of dolomite flour or lime. The consumption of the mixture is 300 grams per square meter. To make the soil looser, a bucket of sand or sawdust is also added to one square meter.

Just before sowing, the soil is dug up with humus or peat, nitrophosphate or wood ash. Depth - on the spade bayonet.

Blue cornflower seeds usually do not need to be prepared for sowing. Only the Fisher variety should be stratified before autumn planting. The process is simple: keep the seeds in a plastic bag for 1-2 months on the top shelf of the refrigerator.

Cornflowers are planted in several stages:

• slightly level the dug up soil;
• dig holes 3-4 cm deep and water;
• lower the seeds into the recesses and cover them with earth.

Fresh beds are covered with spunbond and watered every 3 days. Seedlings can be expected within a week. When sprouts break through, the coating is removed. On the seventh day after germination, the beds are thinned out so that the distance between the stems is 10-15 centimeters.

Before planting ornamental varieties in the ground, seedlings can be prepared. This will help the plants to take root and adapt better. The best season for planting seedlings in the garden is mid-spring. Plastic containers or ceramic pots of any size are suitable for germinating seeds.

How to grow seedlings step by step:

• fill pot with potting soil;
• make holes 2 cm deep, pour;
• put seeds in the recesses and sprinkle with earth, do not tamp;
• cover seedlings with plastic wrap.

Containers with planted flowers should stand in a warm place, at a temperature of +20 degrees. When green sprouts appear, the film must be removed. Cornflowers are fed once a day with complex fertilizer for seedlings. The flowers are ready to be planted in the garden when their stems are 10-12 centimeters high.

Post-growing

Cornflower blue grows in one place up to seven years. Annual and biennial flowers in general do not require special dressings or a special watering regimen. Additional moisture is required only during particularly dry seasons.

A sign of lack of water is small flowers and dried leaves. After restoring the water balance, the cornflower will return to normal. To facilitate watering, you can install a drip irrigation system on the beds. But it is important to remember that waterlogging is more dangerous for blue cornflower, since the flooded plant will not recover.Also, excess moisture provokes fungal diseases.

Annuals with waterlogging get sick with fusarium, which manifests itself in the form of brown spots on the leaves. In this case, the plants are treated with Fundazol. Also, spraying with an aqueous solution of manure, prepared in a ratio of 1: 1, helps against the disease.

Expert opinionZarechny Maxim ValerievichAgronomist with 12 years of experience. Our best gardening expert.Ask a QuestionIn the beds of cornflowers located in the shade, a spider mite or aphid may appear. To expel pests, plant leaves are sprinkled with a thin layer of ash.

In order for cornflowers to bloom longer, they need to be fed. In the period before flowering, a solution of nitrophoska and urea is introduced into the soil, a tablespoon per 10 liters of water. After fertilization, cornflowers will bloom until autumn. To make the flowers bloom faster, plants with buds are sprayed with Zircon.

Prolong flowering also helps pruning withered buds. Blue cornflower is cut in two ways:

• top pruning - removal of all dried parts of the plant;
• lower pruning - shortening the stem to a height of 10 centimeters above the soil.

Cornflowers are preferable to cut in the first way. Then the plants retain fluffiness and volume. After low pruning, the beds lose their decorative effect. The second method is used for perennials to prevent the spread of diseases or for vegetative propagation.

Reproduction

Blue cornflower is propagated by seeds and root division. The vegetative method is suitable for perennial varieties with a branched root system, for example, Phrygian, whitened, large-headed. Cornflower Fisher releases basal shoots. If a variety has a stem root, it cannot be separated, for example, musk cornflower.

Favorable time for division - in the spring before flowering or in the summer-autumn period after flowering. How to divide blue cornflower root:

• dig up a bush, shake off the roots from the soil and place in a basin of water;
• divide so that each part has three kidneys;
• the resulting bushes are planted in a new place.

After planting, plants will need bottom pruning. In the first month, seedlings are watered 3-4 times. Divided bushes will bloom the next year.

Blue cornflower seeds are harvested after flowering, when the boxes have formed. The mature achene changes from green to brown. Ripe boxes are cut off if the cornflowers plan to be planted elsewhere. If you leave the achenes on the bushes, they will fall off by themselves and germinate naturally in the spring.

Popular varieties

Varieties of blue cornflower include tall and dwarf varieties. A feature of the varietal diversity of the plant is a different root system. In soft cornflower, it is represented by a long root with small processes.

Fischer's cornflower has a branching root. Cornflower Russian is deeply rooted with the help of one long process. Other varieties have a thick rhizome.

Decorative cornflowers are used in landscape design, planted in flower beds, lawns, flower beds. Flowers of blue shades are best combined with red poppies, with yellow marigold or esholcia, bright kosmeya.

Bride

The inflorescences of the tall variety look like creamy white clouds. The stems reach 100 centimeters in height, and the diameter of the flowers is 5 centimeters. Musk variety Bride is suitable for growing in a flower bed or in a pot.

Pros:

• flower stalks can be cut and used in bouquets;
• nice fragrance;
• reproduces well by self-sowing.

Cons:

• not suitable for transplant;
• required to loosen the soil;
• sensitive to waterlogging and nitrogen.

When planting, do not add organic fertilizer, otherwise the Bride will not bloom well. If there is not enough air in the soil, the inflorescences become smaller. Taproot eliminates vegetative propagation.

Alba

The mountain variety is distinguished by bright snow-white inflorescences. It belongs to the medium varieties and grows up to 60 centimeters. Alba cornflower blooms in summer and lasts up to three months. The diameter of open buds reaches 7 centimeters.

Pros:

• can grow in acidic soil;
• cold resistant;
• perennial.

Cons:

• bush needs to be divided every three years;
• drought sensitive.

Alba variety is more tolerant of soil acidity, but every three years at the beginning of autumn, lime must be added to the soil. On overgrown bushes, the flowers fade, so the plant needs to be divided regularly. Alba is used to decorate garden paths and flower beds.

Goldilocks

The variety is also known as Grossheimia, large-headed cornflower and yellow. Its feature is stems more than a meter long. The diameter of open inflorescences is 5 centimeters.

Goldilocks Pros:

• blooms for a long time;
• suitable for bouquets;
• does not need regular division of the bush.

Cons:

• long stems need to be tied up;
• sensitive to lack of oxygen.

Cornflower Goldilocks blooms two months after planting. Plants planted in June will bloom in September. The beds with yellow cornflowers need to be loosened, but the bushes live in one place without division for 7-10 years.

Black Sprite

The mountain variety is distinguished by an unusual dark purple, almost black color of the inflorescences. Cornflower Black Sprite grows 35-40 centimeters high.

Pros:

• extravagance;
• suitable for cutting;
• grows in light shade.

Cons:

• does not tolerate excess moisture;
• undesirable to plant in acidic soil.

Black Sprite grows well in sandy and loamy soil. The plant needs drainage. Perennial blooms from May to July.

Colorful border

A mixture of medium-sized varieties gives the flower garden an elegant look. The height of the stems is 40 centimeters. Flowers with an average diameter of 4-5 centimeters.

Pros of Colorful Border:

• terry inflorescences of different colors: blue, red, purple, white, two-tone;
• suitable for decorating bouquets.

Cons:

• designed for outdoor cultivation;
• annual.

Cornflowers varieties Multi-colored border bloom all summer. To make the bushes lush, they need to be pinched.

Polka dot

The dwarf variety is a hybrid of undersized species and grows to a maximum of 40 centimeters. It is distinguished by juicy green foliage and a variety of color inflorescences. In addition to blue, Polka dot blooms with burgundy, red, pink and white flowers.

Pros:

• long flowering;
• developed root system;
• drought tolerance.

Cons:

• after planting, you need to feed every two weeks;
• fertilizer should be applied in moderation, otherwise the leaves will turn yellow.

Under favorable conditions, the Polka dot variety produces large flowers with a diameter of 5 centimeters.

Purple Heart (Ash Hart)

The name of the medium-sized variety comes from the unusual color of the flowers: purple central inflorescences are surrounded by white inflorescences. The cobweb-shaped buds reach a diameter of 6 centimeters.

Purple Heart Benefits:

• universal flower for garden design;
• disease resistant.

Cons:

• not suitable for cutting;
• early and short flowering.

The flowers of the variety bloom from May to July. Cornflower Ash Hart tolerates dry weather better. From moisture, the plant can become ill with fusarium.

Large-headed

Cornflower is one of the tallest varieties, reaching a height of 100 centimeters. The diameter of the flowers is a record 9 centimeters. The color of the inflorescences is yellow.

Pros:

• bright, sunny, pleasant to look at;
• flower stalks can be used in bouquets;
• frost and drought resistant perennial.

Cons of the flower:

• faded buds look unaesthetic;
• needs to be fed during flowering.

Dried flowers turn brown, so it's best to cut them off. For better flowering, large-headed cornflowers need to be fertilized with wood ash and mineral supplements.

Bleached

Medium-sized variety is especially popular with gardeners due to the lush inflorescences of a pleasant lilac-pink hue with a white core. Often used by landscape designers in single and group compositions.

Blended cornflower benefits:

• looks organic in the flowerbed and in a natural planting;
• peduncles suitable for cutting;
• perennial variety.

Cons:

• does not grow in acidic soil;
• does not tolerate the absence of light;
• blooms for two months.

To plant Podbelenny cornflower, you need a site with neutral humus soil. Flowering lasts from July to August. Bushes grow in one place for up to ten years.

Seed (blue)

Winter variety of classic rich blue color grows 80 centimeters in height. One of the most unpretentious species is easily propagated by seeds.

Advantages of Cornflower Sowing:

• flowers from June to August;
• inflorescences have healing properties;
• honey variety.

Cons:

• grows like a weed;
• simple compared to ornamental varieties.

Cornflower has a branched root system, so its bushes can be divided.

Dark Purple

The variety looks mysterious and exotic due to rounded inflorescences of dark red or dark purple color with dark stipules covered with white fringe along the edges.

Cornflower Dark Purple Benefits:

• honey variety;
• perennial.

Cons:

• long stems need to be tied up;
• hard to breed.

Seeds of the variety should be germinated in containers, and then the seedlings should be transferred to the ground. Mature plants do not tolerate transplanting well.

Beautiful

The inflorescences of the variety are distinguished by a delicate lavender, pink-lilac shade. Low plants grow 30 centimeters long.

Pluses of the most beautiful cornflower:

• aesthetic;
• frost resistance.

Cons:

• difficult breeding;
• short bloom.

Variety Beautiful blooms for 30-40 days. Flowers are grown from seeds in seedlings.

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