Centaurea americana, ‘Aloha Blanca’ Basket Flower

Want a plant to impress the neighbours or your dinner guests at your next party? Try this one! (They won’t, in all probability, have seen it before and we’re sure you’ll be delighted to be able to tell them it’s the Basket Flower.) Robust and tall growing, it bears superbly beautiful, fluffy, ivory-white flowers six inches (yes, six: 15 cm. if you insist on metric) across. A lot of flower, a lot of lovely whiskery petals. And a little bonus: they make excellent dried flowers. 5ft (1.5m)

Germination Instructions

Sow indoors for early season flowers the following year. Sow onto moist seed compost. Cover with a fine sprinkling of soil. Propagate at 15-20°C, keep moist. Germination takes 14-21 days. Transplant seedlings once large enough to handle to 8cm pots.. Plant out the following spring. Can sow direct into prepared, raked soil 3mm deep in drills 30cm apart. Thin to 15cm spacing when large enough to handle.

Growing Instructions

Do not fertilise as this encourages leaf growth instead of flowers. Likes to be crowded.

Cultivation Instructions

May require support. Deadhead regularly to extend the flowering period. This is a cut and come again variety.