Craspedia

As well as being a favourite among florists, Craspedia is also becoming increasingly well known as a garden plant. It bears dense, yellow, spherical flowerheads, at the top of stiff stems emerging from basal rosettes of narrow foliage. There are several species available, though Craspedia globosa is the most widely cultivated. Craspedia is also known by the names of bachelor’s buttons or Billy buttons.

Sow seed indoors January to April 1cm depp in good free-draining, seed compost. Cover with a fine sprinkling of vermiculite. Place in a propagator or seal container inside a polythene bag until after germination. Keep compost on the dry side at all times, water lightly as seedlings emerge. Transplant seedlings when large enough to handle into 7.5cm pots and continue to grow on indoors in cooler conditions.

Acclimatise to outside conditions before planting out after all risk of frost, 30cm apart. Once the time comes for an outdoor move, craspedia is perfect for the front to middle of a sunny, well-draining border. It also makes an excellent container plant. Wherever you plant it, remember this plant hails from the mountains of the southern hemisphere, so give it as much sun and drainage as you can!

TOP TIP

If you intend to treat your craspedia as an annual, there is no pruning required. Simply remove the plant at the end of the growing season and discard onto the compost heap. If you did want to try to overwinter it, simply cut back after flowering and move to a frost-free environment (container-grown) or place a cloche over the plant.