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How to grow Love-in-a-mist in the UK
Blue flowers in a misty cloud of leaves, then funny balloon-shaped seed pods.
- DifficultyEasy peasy
- WhereBeds or Pots
- Sunfull sun or part shade
- Grows to45cm
- Spacing20cm
- Time to first pickabout 12 weeks
- Typeannual
When to sow, plant and harvest love-in-a-mist
| Sow outdoors | mid March to late May or early September to late September |
|---|---|
| In flower | early June to late August |
Dates are for central England. Sow about two weeks later in the north and Scotland, and up to two weeks earlier in the south and south west. Get the dates for your postcode.
Sowing it outdoors
- Pull out any weeds and rake the top of your bed until it's crumbly, like cake crumbs
- Make a little line in the soil (0.5cm deep) with your finger or a stick
- Drop the seeds in, about 20cm apart each way
- Gently cover them with soil and pat it down
- Water with a watering can that has a sprinkler head
- Push in a label so you remember what's there
Top tips for growing love-in-a-mist
- It seeds itself, so it pops up again every year.
Soil and feeding
Poor soil - really!. Nasturtiums flower best in poor soil. Feed them and you get all leaves and no flowers.
Harvesting and eating love-in-a-mist
Cut the flowers for a vase, or leave them for the stripy seed pods - great dried.
Saving your own love-in-a-mist seed
It does it for you!.
- Leave a few flowers to set seed - it scatters them itself and new plants pop up next year
- To move them, dig up the seedlings in spring and replant them where you want them
- Or shake the dry seed heads into a paper bag in late summer
Where to buy love-in-a-mist seeds
Thompson & Morgan · Suttons · Amazon
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Love-in-a-mist questions
When should I sow love-in-a-mist in the UK?
In the UK, sow love-in-a-mist outdoors from mid March to late May or early September to late September. These dates suit central England; sow about two weeks later in the north and Scotland and up to two weeks earlier in the mild south and south west.
When can I enjoy love-in-a-mist?
Love-in-a-mist is ready from early June to late August. Cut the flowers for a vase, or leave them for the stripy seed pods - great dried.
How long do love-in-a-mist take to grow?
Roughly 12 weeks from sowing or planting until the first harvest.
Are love-in-a-mist easy to grow?
Love-in-a-mist are rated 'easy peasy' for beginners, and can be grown in the ground or a raised bed or in pots and containers.
Plan your own garden: it tells you what to do and when, for your postcode.
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