All About Bachelor’s Button | Cornflower (Centaurea Cyanus) History, Meaning, Facts, Care & More

This flower is also called cornflower, it is one of the most bluish in color flowers, some it is the most bluish flower of all. We all know that blue is rarely found in nature as pure color. This makes this flower almost look like an alien species among flowering plants. Its flowers give a very fine look when placed among the weekly floral arrangement in the offices. This plant and its flowers belong to a family of Centaurea.

This flower is a subject of a lot of forelocks and superstitions. Moreover, this flower has been considered as one of the most beautiful flowers of all. It is an ancient species of flowering plants dating back to almost 5000 BC in the past. They also have some shades in colors, including pinkish-red and mild blue. These shades came from the heterogeneous reproduction of these plants with other flowering plants. They bore a few new and exotic colors.

 

Facts about bachelor’s button (Centaurea cyanus):

It was J.F Kennedy’s most favorite flower of all time. He wore this to give tribute to his father on his wedding day. Also, many other famous celebrities in Hollywood wore it. Once it was used to decorate the whole stage for the Grammys. In the Victorian times, this flower was used as a symbol of celibacy. It is the national flower of Germany. Germans have huge respect for it.

 

History of Cornflower

This flower originated in European side that touches the West Asian corner. This flower was found on the mummy of the Egyptian king known as Tutankhamun; His head was fully covered with these flowers. That is why they are subject to some good omens and bad omens. They were grown in abundance in Europe.

The legend says he was half man and horse, he used these blue flowers to wash his wounds and recovered . This is in Greek mythology. In the past, it was known as many different names across different nations. In the 1600s they were introduced in the United State by the British settlers. The bluest of all varieties, Jubilee Gem, was included in the year of 1937 and the red bachelor button, Red Boy was scripted in 1942 in the books by different authors or botanists. These flowers were a bit easier to grow with seed, so they spread throughout the world easily.

 

Characteristic of Centaurea cyanus:

They are perfectly circular shaped with their petals covering each other and moving out of the center. Their shape is like cornflowers. These flowers were used to heal patients in the past but now they are still used as herbal medicine. In the corporate world, they are among the most used flowers for the weekly floral arrangements for the offices.

Also, they are used in wedding decorations and other parties. Their color ranges from the bluish to pinkish red. So, their color can be different depending on species and mixed species. Their florets sizes and numbers can also differ because of the heterogeneous mixing with other species.  But they mostly come in 3, 3 groups. They don’t have petals.

 

 

Use of Bachelor’s button (Centaurea cyanus):

In the past, they were used as a medicine and herb. Also, they were used in the decorations. Egyptians used it to mummify their dead bodies of the dead kings. Also, they were used to wore on special occasions.  In the Victorian times, it became symbol celibacy. It was used in decoration for religious gatherings.

A lot of famous celebrities wore it on their marriage day. This flower can be used as a button on the coat so it can easily be worn on such occasions. As the name suggests the bachelor’s button.

 

Cornflower Flower Meaning:

There are a lot of meanings of this flower, one among them is wows of celibacy for the priests, one is of love to a woman, one of them is love is not returned if the flower fades away quickly.

 

How to Care for bachelor’s button (Centaurea cyanus):

This plant is grown as an annual crop. Its flowers bloom in the late spring. So, during the summer days, it needs a bit of care. This plant is directly planted using the seeds. Here are a few tips for taking care of the bachelor’s button plant:

• Water is based on the weekly schedule, or according to the soil condition and warm temperatures in your areas. Make sure not to give too much water to the garden, do this in the morning time so the water goes dry before the evening. Dry foliage of the plant can better resist the mold and fungal attacks.
• Cover the soil near the plants with the use of mulch, so that plants can keep the water for the longer days. Do this when planting and do this when the plant becomes tall enough.
• Provide them stem of the plant with some support So that when they grow, they do not bend more the fell to earth. Some people use cages for the purpose that are a bit higher than the size of the flower.
• You may have to use the pesticides or fungal killers to protect the plants from the fungus and pests
• If your soil is not good enough you can use the fertilizers as well, but they can grow without them also.
• Here are a few last tips for the care of the plants of the bachelor’s button or Centaurea cyanus, always maintain the distance between the plants so that they do not overlap each other, also so that air can pass through them. Most of the varieties only require a 9 to 12 inches space between the plants. One last tip, pluck the flowers when they look normal-sized do not let them be on the plant or they will overgrow and they cannot be used for the office decorations for weekly floral arrangements or anything because they will start fading away very soon.