Cornflower Red Boy Seeds - Centaurea cyanus

Centaurea cyanus Red Boy is a very beautiful variety derived from the wild, annual cornflower, also called bachelor's button. Its flowers are full double blooms and are of very richly nuanced shades of red, tinged with carmine pink. Just like the adorable annual weed which was once so widespread in the countryside, wandering even as far as into our cereal crop fields, they paint a somewhat naïve but unforgettable picture. Very decorative in large drifts, these cornflowers are perfect in wildflower bouquets and bloom for months on end if care is taken to remove the flowers as they wilt.

Cornflowers of the 'Red Boy' variety belong to the Asteraceae family. It is a cultivar derived from Centaurea cyanus, an annual herbaceous plant native to Europe and North Asia that has long been considered an invasive weed in cereal crops and is one of the most beautiful wildflowers of our regions. It forms an upright clump with tender stems, reaching 80-90 cm (2 ft 8-3 ft) high and 25 cm (10 in) wide, that bear very narrow, long, greyish-green leaves. The flowering period lasts from June to August, displaying inflorescences in the form of double flower heads of 3 cm (1.2 in) in diameter. The ligulate flowers (or the petals surrounding the centre) are indented at their tips and come in a hue ranging carmine to magenta, while the centre of the inflorescence is made up of florets of a darker red. The blooms are very melliferous and nectar-rich. The fruit is an achene that contains seeds that easily self-sow in light soil. The seedlings produced from spontaneous self-sowing will not necessarily be identical to the parent plants.

Cornflowers are enchanting in flowerbeds where they form remarkable patches of colour. The variety 'Red Boy', a delightful descendant of the most famous of them all, brings the charm of the countryside to our gardens. Sow cornflower in wild-looking beds, combined with ornamental grasses such as Stipa tenuifolia or Muhlenbeckia capillaris. Add to the mix its brother 'Blue Boy', alongside common poppies, blue or white  love-in-a-mist, annual or oriental poppies, tall daisies, thistles (Eryngium, Echinops), or chamomile. The edible flowers can be used to decorate summer salads. It is also an excellent cut flower.