Strawflowers have always fascinated me and I always wanted to have them in my garden. I’ve been trying to grow them for 3 years, but, I’ve always failed. This year I’ve finally managed to grow some wonderful strawflowers.
Strawflower (Xerochysum bracteatum) is a herbaceous perennial that is usually grown as an annual flower, although in mild winter areas it can be grown as perennial. This Australian native flower has spread throughout the world and is a common flower in cottage gardens and wild gardens around the world. Its strawy petals are perfect for cuttings, especially dried flower ones, and great for arrangements and bouquets.
They absolutely adore the sun, warmth, and thrive in the warm weather. They will not grow in colder areas, or if they grow they will be much smaller and with fewer flowers.
The plant is drought tolerant and prefers a lack of water over the wet roots and too much humidity. They will do better in warm areas and want full sun places. They prefer sandy soil, but they will grow in any soil. I have hard clay in my garden and they are growing nicely with one exception: Seeds should be sown in pots.
And this is where I have been wrong for the first few years. I heard somewhere that strawflowers don’t like to be transplanted and I’ve kept on sowing them to the garden soil. They were clearly against our colder spring start and in combination with wet soil they refused to grow. But in pots, warm and loose soil the seedlings thrived, and after transplanting they had no problems with growth.
They should be started around the end of March, so if the conditions are bad the best way to start them is in pots and transplant them after the last frost date. They will grow into a bushy plant 15-45cm(6-18in) wide and 60-90cm (2-3ft) tall. Flowers can be all colors, double and single-headed, with bigger and smaller flowers. Flowers are strawy and dry when touched. This is the reason what the plant is called strawflowers.
Plants don’t need to be pruned, but flowers should be removed to extend the flowering period.
Flowers are perfect for drying and they will dry easily, although while drying stem will become fragile and if the head is big it could break easily. With wire support, there should be no problem with drying.
I absolutely adore my strawflowers and I will continue to sow them every year.
Leave a Reply