Cornflowers from seed - have they gone "leggy"?

louise.whittington100 · May 2023

Hello, I am growing from seed for the first time this year, for a small experimental cutting patch. I grew these Cornflowers from seed sown undercover last October and have just put brought them out of the coldframe ready to plant. Are they leggy or is this how they are supposed to look? If so, can I do anything about it? Many thanks

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/cb/zlmy1we5noyu.jpg

Fairygirl · May 2023

They could probably have done with being outside sooner - hardening off for a good while and planted out. I only sowed mine in April and they're already being hardened off outdoors with minimum protection. They're only about an inch or two tall

They do get to that sort of size though, but they should really have been outside sooner to toughen them up. They're hardy annuals so don't need much help to grow

louise.whittington100 · May 2023

Ah thanks Fairygirl - I've only ever grown Perennials up till now so it is a learning curve with all the Hardy's and when to sow/harden off/plant out etc. Will they be OK now just as they are going into the cutting patch? Do I need to pinch out?

Fairygirl · May 2023

I can't remember if you can pinch them out or not because mine are never that size by the time they're planted out, and our season is later here than further south, so that can make a difference. I haven't grown them for a few years until this year either, but they're pretty straightforward

As you have quite a lot there, I'd say you could probably experiment a bit. They look nice and healthy/sturdy, so I think you could nip out a few and see how it goes.

louise.whittington100 · May 2023

Thanks good idea! I have to learn not to sow so many seeds 😕

Fairygirl · May 2023

It's a very common problem @louise.whittington100

Ironically, you could always sow a few more as back up - not too late. It depends how many you need though. They do get fairly sizeable

Astro · May 2023

They look normal, they are quite a tall plant inclined to getting leggy. The best conditions for them are full sun and fairly impoverished soil. I'm pretty sure they can be cut back pretty hard, when they have had many spent flowers I have took shears to them and they still flowered. From my experience most of the repeat flowering plants can be cut back to a set of true leaves and will go again.

louise.whittington100 · May 2023

Thank you!

Digging-it · May 2023

I have a lot of self sown cornflowers which are now easily 2-3 ft high and starting to bloom. They can blow over in a strong wind but mine are against a shed so a bit of judicious tying in can help. But what lovely flowers! Yours look ready for planting out.

thevictorian · May 2023

They look normal. If you consider cornflowers are plants that grow in meadows and in grass, you can see why they grow up tall like that. They can flop because they'd normally be supported by other plants but yours are near flowering size because you sowed them early. Rich soil and added heat from being in a cold frame will have also sped things up a bit but I don't think you should be worried at all.

You should be fine to plant the straight out as long as a frost isn't forecast in the next week or so. Mine went straight out when they were a few inches high, a couple of weeks ago.

Cornflowers from seed - have they gone "leggy"?

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