Centaurea montana
| Centaurea montana | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 1' |
| Width: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Centaurea montana (common name: mountain cornflower)
Propagation: Seed - sow March in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer.
The seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in August in a greenhouse, overwintered under cover, and planted out in spring.
Division in autumn. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer or following spring. This should be done at least once every three years in order to maintain the plants vigour.
Basal cuttings in spring. Harvest the shoots when they are about 5 - 10cm long with plenty of underground stem. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer.
Cultivation: Succeeds in ordinary garden soil[1][2]. Prefers a moist well-drained fertile soil and a sunny position[2]. Tolerates dry, low fertility and alkaline soils[2].
Plants are hardy to at least -20°c[3].
A very ornamental plant[1], there are some named varieties[3]. The plants have creeping rhizomes and form spreading patches[3].
A good bee plant[4].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[5].
Range: Europe.
Habitat: Mountain woodland margins and meadows[6].
Medicinal: Mountain cornflower is seldom used in modern herbalism, though it does still have a reputation in parts of Europe as a wash for tired eyes[7]. It is considered to be most effective on blue eyes, great plantain (Plantago majus) being used for brown eyes[7].
The dried flowers are antitussive, astringent, weakly diuretic, emmenagogue, ophthalmic, very mildly purgative and tonic[6]. An infusion can be used as a treatment for dropsy, constipation, as a mouthwash for bleeding gums and as an eye bath for conjunctivitis[6].
Usage: Can be used as a ground cover plant in a sunny position[8][9].
Pollinators: Bees, flies, lepidoptera, self
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Mid Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association, 1981.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Stuart, Malcolm. The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism. Orbis Publishing, 1979.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Plants for Ground Cover. Everyman, 1990.