Cornflower: cultivation, care and meaning

Not an easy flower to meet the cornflower, but the best place to look for it is certainly along a cereal field or along country roads. The cornflower is one herbaceous plant, angiosperm, annual (rarely biennial) which can have a height between 30 and 80 centimeters.

It is a plant whose growth in Italy unfortunately in the last fifty years due to the use of agricultural herbicides, has suffered a strong setback thus entering the endangered botanical species. Lately, however, flower growers have been starting a trend reversal since the beauty and ease of cultivation make it a species in great demand as an ornament for terraces and gardens. All this happens not only in Italy but also abroad where countries such as America and Australia are increasing the cultivation of this splendid flower due to market demand.

The Latin name of the cornflower is Centaurea cyanus: the word cyanus in turn derives from ancient Greek and means “blue-coloured substance”. The term centaurea instead derives from mythology and precisely from the character Chiron, the wisest of the centaurs, a scholar of art and medicine, who being a close friend of Zeus, was given immortality as a gift. During a battle with Heraclius however, he was shot in the knee by a poisoned arrow whose wound caused him to suffer terribly. Legend has it that after so much suffering, thanks to a compress with cornflowers, his wound healed from the infection.

Cornflower: characteristics

Certainly fascinating, the cornflower is one of the most sought after ornamental plants, thanks to the intense blue of its flowers and the particularity of its grey/green leaves. The long and thin petals are grouped around a dark central corolla, even if over the years hybrids have been created which can give double and semi-double flowers with different colours. This plant prefers direct sun exposure and frequent watering especially during the flowering period which occurs between May and August. The Cornflower is a very easy flower to grow thanks to its resistance both to heat, reacting well even to particularly sultry periods, and to cold with temperatures that can even reach minus ten degrees.

Land cultivation

The cornflower can be sown in a pot or in an open garden during the period between March and May or otherwise in October. While if we want to sow it in a protected environment or inside, the best month is February. For sowing, proceed by obtaining fresh seeds which must be positioned on the surface of the ground at a distance of forty centimeters from each other. The seeds in pairs of ten maximum, must not be buried but only compacted with the soil. At this point it will be enough to keep the soil well moist until germination. By placing the seeds at a distance of ten centimeters less then thirty centimeters, thicker plants will be obtained. The cornflower grows spontaneously near cereal fields, in fact it prefers a draining but fertile soil rich in organic substances with a neutral pH.

Pot cultivation

As regards the sowing of the cornflower in pots, the procedure is the same as described for sowing in the ground; only one precaution to follow is the fertilization which can take place every fortnight from sowing until September, with a liquid fertilizer to be added to the irrigation water in order to obtain a richer flowering.

Cornflower care, advice and watering

This plant it loves a mild climate and a soft and fluffy soil rich in organic material, at the same time it requires frequent but controlled watering, as it fears liquid stagnation. If you decide to repot the plant, the best season is spring, however this practice is to be avoided and it is advisable to decide where to put it and not move it anymore. As for the pruning it does not need much maintenance, just remove the dry parts. The cornflower is a heat-loving flower, in summer it can be exposed to the sun without problems. Watering in summer must take place frequently and abundantly.

Meaning of the flower

In floral language, the cornflower plant symbolizes lightness and sweetness, is often given as a gift to a friend to express sincere friendship. In the tradition that belongs to the past years this flower was worn by men in their jacket pockets to indicate that they were free from sentimental ties, in fact it was called “the bachelor’s button”, but for this reason it was also associated with the meaning of waiting and patience. According to an English tradition, however, the Cornflowers were worn by women to indicate their interest in marriage while if it was hidden under the dress it indicated the existence of a lover.

Diseases and pests

The cornflower plant can be attacked by foliar insects such as cochineal they miteswhich can be combated with natural products to be sprayed in advance such aslinseed oil, neem oil and pyrethrum. The cornflower can also be attacked by fungal diseases like thepowdery mildewthe downy mildew or the rust and the scab.