How to Grow Bachelor Buttons (Cornflowers) from Seed: Easy Flower for Beginners

Bachelor buttons (Centaurea cyanus) is an annual flower with papery petals. They are a popular filler flower because of their color range and vase life of up to two weeks.

These flowers are also popular with pollinators. Grow some in your garden to see an increase in bees and butterflies.

Bachelor Buttons are easy to grow and can be direct sown into the garden as soon as all danger of frost has passed. You can also start seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before the last frost date. Starting seeds indoors will give you earlier blooms.

You can also succession sow to have blooms all summer. Sow seeds every 2 or 3 weeks until the middle of summer.

Cornflower or Bachelor Buttons seeds are not fussy and are easy to germinate.

• Moisten soil

• Plant seeds ¼” deep or lightly cover with soil

• Optimal soil temperature 60-70ºF

• Keep soil moist until seeds germinate in 7-14 days

Keep grow lights close when starting Bachelor Buttons indoors to prevent leggy seedlings.

Once seedlings have true leaves, you can start hardening them off to transplant outdoors. Space Bachelor Buttons seedlings 6 to 8 inches apart. The transplanted seedlings can be buried to the depth of the first true leaves.

Once your Bachelor Buttons are in the garden, they are easy to care for. They don’t spread, but they can self-seed. They aren’t picky about soil and can grow just about anywhere.

Bachelor Buttons prefer full sun. They will have more flowers if given 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight daily. Afternoon shade can be beneficial in hot climates.

Well-draining soil is important. These cheerful flowers can tolerate poor soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5.

Give young plants more frequent watering. Once established, Bachelor Buttons are drought-tolerant.

It’s not necessary to fertilize Bachelor Buttons. However, you can apply a little extra phosphorus for more blooms. Don’t overdo it. This plant can tolerate poor soil.

The best time to cut Bachelor Buttons is right before the blossoms open. Cutting the blooms at this stage will give them a longer vase life.

To encourage more flower growth, regularly deadhead the blooms before they go to seed. Once the plant goes to seed, it stops producing flowers.

You can pinch early growth to have bushier plants with more side branches.

Bachelor Buttons are relatively pest and disease-free, but there are always aphids to watch out for.

Yes, bachelor buttons are edible.

Bachelor Buttons typically bloom from late spring into summer. Succession planting and cutting back can help extend their bloom time into fall.

Yes, in many climates, they will self-sow if the flowers are left to go to seed.

Fun Facts:

• Bachelor Buttons were worn in the buttonholes of men's jackets during Victorian times, symbolizing love and fidelity.
  
  

• The distinctive blue pigment in Cornflowers was once used as a natural dye and in medieval manuscripts.
  
  

• Bachelor Buttons are the national flower of Estonia and were a favorite of German Emperor Wilhelm I.
  
  

Bachelor Buttons are such an easy flower to grow from seed. You can add them to a cottage garden, a flower farm, or even a low-maintenance annual border. They’ll give you charming colors and welcome the beneficial pollinators. Plant this heirloom flower in your garden.