Have you ever wonder how Mrs. Jones gets so many butterflies to visit her garden? Or where she found all the beautiful blue flowers that are so hard to come by? You can have butterflies and blue flowers too if you do a little planning and little labor of love.
Bachelor Button (Centaurea cyanus) is an annual flower that certainly has a place in naturalized, wild flower and cutting gardens. Bachelor Button grows in full sun, flowers June to August and seeds ripen August to October. The plant is drought tolerant, requires well drained soil, can tolerate nutrient poor and very alkaline soil. Once a common cornfield weed and now very rare in the wild due to proper agricultural management, can be found on nutrient rich porous soils in the wild. The flowers are pollinated by butterflies, moths, bees and flies. This plant is self fertile (hermaphrodite) has both male and female organs. Varieties available range in height from dwarf "Florence Pink" 12" to 24-36" with colors ranging from white, blue pink and wine. One lovely variety is "Sweet Sultan Imperials" fragrant with large 2" blooms. Bachelor Button is propagated by seed and can be started indoors for earlier bloom or outdoors 1-2 weeks before last frost in the spring, and in more temperate climates in the fall. It is very important that the seed is covered by 1/4-1/2 inch of soil or soilless mix (depending on your sowing choice), the seed needs total darkness to germinate. I prefer to start my seedlings indoors and have grown quite a number of crops both annual and perennial, Bachelor Button are easy germinators.
Common uses for Bachelor Button are cutting, drying, flowers and new shoots are edible and they attract butterflies.
Starting Indoors:
Sow seeds in a soilless medium easily found where you get your indoor garden supplies. This medium drains well and is light and porous for good root formation and aeration. You can use recycled containers from your veggies and other plastic containers, make sure there are drainage holes in the bottom the pot or else your roots will drown and die.
Don't pack the soilless mix in too tight, fill up your container and give it a good tap or two on the table. Make sure you moisten the mix to a point where it sticks together when balled up in your fist. If you can squeeze water out add more mix, it shouldn't be overly wet.
Sow your seeds four weeks before your last frost date, don't forget to cover your seed with 1/4-1/2 inch of mix and gently pat the mix down as to ensure good contact with seed. Gently water sown seeds in with a mist nozzle using room temperature water, or set your container in water until the top of the medium is damp. It is very important not to let the soil dry during the period of seed germination, once imbibed (filled with water) the seed will not tolerate drying out before germination.
Cover your container with cling wrap or a plastic dome of some sort to keep the humidity high during this period of seed germination. Air circulation is also important make sure to lift the plastic for an hour or two each day to ward off any fungal problems that may occur.
Bottom heat speeds up germination, too hot will kill seeds so be careful where you choose your source of bottom heat, I use the very ends of my florescent lamps, the middle is too hot with the electrical components. Grow your emerged seedlings at a temperature range of 60-72 degrees.
Some annual bachelor's-buttons, are day-length sensitive, they need at least 14 hours of daylight to set flower buds, so you may want to supplement natural light with fluorescent or grow lights. I recommend using bulbs specific for plant growth. Remove the plastic covers when the seedlings emerge and place the containers under the grow lights with the lamp about 3 inches from the top of the seedlings, raise lamps or lower seedlings as they grow, never let the light bulb touch the seedlings. Water as needed to keep the mix moist.
Transplant the seedlings to individual pots when they are about 2 inches tall and have two pair of true leaves, the first "leaves" you see emerge are not leaves they are the cotyledon (seed leaves) and will eventually fall off as new "true leaves" emerge. You can use whatever you like as a pot as long a you have drainage and room to grow; I have used large styrofoam cups in the past. I use 3 1/2" or 4" square or round pots, recycled of course.
Once transplanted fertilize seedlings with a good balanced fertilizer 20-20-20 or 15-15-18, you could use a transplant fertilizer if you choose, different ratios 10-52-10 is one. It is best to readily avail the growing seedlings with nutrients so I suggest fertilizing at 1/4 strength of the recommended dose every watering. Unless the soil has dried completely and seedlings are limp, never fertilize a limp plant or seedling. At this point you would water in straight water and then resume the fertilization regiment when seedlings recover.
Now that the seedlings are growing under florescent lights you need to consider better air circulation, setting up a oscillating fan will help to ward off any potential fungal diseases. Place the fan distance so that the seedlings gently move with the force of the wind, not too strong just a gentle breeze is sufficient.
Once your last frost date approaches you will need to start hardening off your little plants, gently acclimatizing them to their new environment outside. Take them outside on a calm day and place them in the shade for an hour or two, repeat this daily increasing the time by about an hour each day for about a week. Eventually moving those into some sun and a night outside by the end of the week (watch your weather closely for frost threats). Never leave your young plants out overnight if frost is in the forecast.
I hope you enjoy growing your seeds and plants as much as I do and that you find the same reward of pride and joy as I do, happy sowing!
