Strawflower

About Strawflower

Strawflower is an Australian daisy whose stiff, papery bracts in yellow, orange, red, pink and white keep their color and shape when dried. It blooms from early summer to frost, makes a long-lasting cut flower, and is one of the classic everlastings for dried bouquets. Bees and butterflies visit the flowers (NC State).

Grown as a summer annual in every zone; it can live over as a short-lived tender perennial only in zones 8-10 (NC State).

When to plant

Timing is counted from your average last spring frost (and first fall frost). Sow & Tell works out the actual dates for your ZIP code.

• Start seeds indoors: 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost
• Set out plants: around the last frost

Start seed indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost (Illinois); press it onto the mix and barely cover, since it needs light, and expect sprouts in 7-10 days at 70-75 F (USU). Set plants out after the last frost, 9-12 inches apart. Days to harvest count from transplanting: Utah growers cut their first stems 7-8 weeks after planting out (USU).

Soil

Average, loamy, well-drained soil; it does fine on the dry side and dislikes soggy ground (Illinois, USU, NC State).

Test the soil first. Utah State suggests about 0.2 lb of nitrogen per 100 sq ft for the season, with half worked in before planting, preferably from a slow-release source; add phosphorus and potassium only if the test calls for them.

Feeding

• Before the first flowers open: nitrogen fertilizer, slow-release if you can (such as an organic 12-0-0). Apply the second half of the season's nitrogen, about 0.1 lb of nitrogen per 100 sq ft, and water it in (USU); follow a soil test.

Overwatering and wet, heavy soil lead to root rot, and overhead watering in humid, rainy weather spoils leaves and flowers (USU, Illinois).

Harvest

Blooms from June until frost (Illinois). For drying, cut when the outer few rows of bracts have opened but the center is still closed; later cuts show yellow centers and can shatter (Iowa State, USU). Cut on dry, sunny mornings, since flowers close at night and in rain, and leave at least 3 nodes on the stem so it branches again (USU).

Varieties (15)

Pests to watch for

Aphids, Fungus gnats, Grasshoppers, Leafhoppers, Tarnished plant bug, Whiteflies, Slugs, Brown garden snail

Diseases and problems

Root and crown rot, Downy mildew, Aster yellows

In the kitchen

Pets: Not listed by the ASPCA (we found no strawflower or Helichrysum entry), so we can't call it pet-safe; discourage pets from chewing it.