Centaurea cyanus 'Classic Fantastic'
cornflower
Delivery options
- Seed Packets (only) £2.95
- Position: full sun
- Soil: well-drained soil
- Rate of growth: average
- Hardiness: hardy annual
Captivating blue and white flowers typify this wonderful bi-coloured cornflower. ‘Classic Fantastic’ is a cottage garden and cut flower favourite that can be in bloom from as little as 10 weeks from a spring sowing, creating armfuls of vase-filling blue-toned ruffs on tall stems throughout the summer. This is a cut-and-come-again variety that benefits from staking. - Growing instructions: Surface-sow seeds in trays filled with good quality compost, and germinate at 50-61°F (10°C-16°C). Pot on when they have put on their first true leaves and harden off before planting out after the frosts have passed. Alternatively, sow directly in late spring or early summer, and thin out to 30cm as they grow. Cornflowers prefer poorer soils, so do not use fertiliser. Deadhead regularly to prolong flowering. In autumn cut the faded flower heads down to the ground and compost the dead stems. Seeds sown in autumn and over-wintered in a cold frame will produce plants that will flower earlier in the year than those sown in spring.
- Sow: March to May or September to October
- Flowering: July to September or May to July