Ornamental Carrot Seeds Dara - Daucus carota

How curious it seems to associate the name 'carrot' with the epithet 'ornamental'. However, it is a particularly adorable variety, Daucus carota 'Dara', also known as ornamental carrot, that is being discussed here. It offers an unpredictable flowering of airy and radiant umbels throughout the summer, made up of countless deep pink-purple stars gradually opening up to pale pink, and then white from the edge of the inflorescence towards its center. This tall annual plant is fantastic for cut flowers, fresh or dried. It will blend into flower beds, lightening the abundant flowering of perennials, in well-drained soil and in the sun.

The wild ancestor of the cultivated carrot is native to Iran, a country that remains the center of diversity for the wild species known as Daucus carota. This plant belongs to the Apiaceae family. It germinates, grows, and flowers within two years. In the first year, this plant develops a deep and fibrous taproot that can sometimes be very long. It produces very fine foliage forming a feathery tuft in spring. In the second year, from June to September, depending on the sowing date, stems of 70 cm (27.6 in) in height emerge from the foliage, bearing beautiful umbels made up of a multitude of small flowers. These inflorescences, both flat and rounded, are bloomed in a gradient of deep pink-purple to white, transforming the plant into a range of pink and white. The plant easily self-seeds in well-drained soil, although not always faithfully.

'Dara' carrot is one of those irreplaceable annuals that instantly create a decor and enhance all the surrounding plants. It will thrive in sunny flower beds or in the vegetable garden, enriching the supply of flowers for bouquets. Create a lovely original scene in a rockery by mixing it with blue-flowered honeywort (Cerinthe major 'Purpurescens'), striped blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium striatum), and ornamental garlic. It is also a perfect plant for slightly wild areas of the garden or natural flower beds.

Wild carrot mobilizes certain heavy metals such as mercury in its root. It can play a useful role in phyto-depollution, in synergy with other plants such as burdock and dock, for example.