Centaurea montana (15) Quarts
Common Name: mountain bluet, perennial cornflower, perennial bachelor's button.
Zones 3 to 8.
Full sun.
Plants reach 12 to 24 inches tall and 12 to 18 inches wide. Herbaceous, erect, stoloniferous perennial.
The fringed blooms of this familiar perennial are rich blue cornflowers with reddish blue centers and black-edged involucre bracts. The flowers appear in late spring, followed by a mass of vigorous silvery green, spreading foliage clumps. Sporadic rebloom in late summer-early fall may occur.
Cornflowers are easily grown in average, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils. Tolerant of poor soils and drought, they may spread by stolons to form colonies in optimum growing conditions, particularly in rich fertile soils. In ideal, cool northern climates and soil conditions spreading can be aggressive. Remove spent flower stalks after bloom to prevent reseeding. Plants may be divided every 2 to 3 years.
Use in massed in border fronts, cottage gardens or naturalized areas. Attracts butterflies, deer resistant. |