All the Dirt on Gardening

Bachelor Buttons are a much loved summer-flowering plant. But when you say Bachelor Button which one do you mean? Centaurea americana These are all called Bachelor Buttons:  Gomphrena globosa, Centaurea cyanus and montana, Ranunculus aconitifolius and Tanacetum parthenium. Seed and plant cataloges are inexact and mish-mash all of these together but in case it's useful: Centaurea cyanus is a blue lavender flowering plant that matures at 1-2 feet tall. Centaurea americana has pink flowers and matures at 3-4 feet tall. Centurea moschata has several flower colors and matures at 2-3 feet tall. Centaurea americana is an unusual Arkansas-Texas native that was discovered by Nutall. It grows 2-feet tall with 5-inch feathery purple-pink flowers in Aug. Expect them to need 4 months from seed to maturity when they can be harvested for dried flowers. Available from Select Seeds. Plants for a Future Bachelor Buttons The ones I love are Corn Flowers, Centaurea cyanus or C. mosch...

 Centaurea Amythest Dream The photo is from our garden the first year these bloomed - 2010. Fortunately,  they have returned each year since and made us happy again and again. There are hundreds (between 350 and 600) species in the plant's family, Asteraceae. Other plants in the genus include starthistle, knapweed and cornflowers. Bluestone Perennials has Amethyst Dream though their photo looks more blue than mine. Perennial Bachelor's Buttons are hardy in zones 3 to 9 and tolerate dry locations as long as they get the half day shade they need in our area. Forest Farm says they are cold hardy to zone 5 and that butterflies love them. Missouri Botanical Garden says they are cold hardy to zone 3 in full sun. "Avoid rich, fertile soils." No diseases or insect problems in our garden, though Fine Gardening says: White mold, rust, downy and powdery mildew, thread blight, and Southern blight can occur. Doug Green calls Mountain Bluet a foolproof pl...