A Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden "Cornflower Snowman" vase, filled with fluffy white double blooms, sits on a wooden surface against a plain light wall.

Cornflower Snowman

£2.30
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A Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden "Cornflower Snowman" vase, filled with fluffy white double blooms, sits on a wooden surface against a plain light wall.
RHS Plants for PollinatorsBeginner friendly

Cornflower Snowman

Centaurea cyanus 'Snowman' — pure white Ball-type double cornflower

1 reviews

Pure white, fully double "Ball" cornflowers with discreet blush centres — the bridal cornflower that has graced English weddings for generations. Edible petals.

£2.30

Free UK delivery on seed orders over £30

Dispatched from our Norfolk farm — Royal Mail, usually within one working day.

Your growing year

Sow, plant out and flowering months for this variety

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
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Dec
Sow
Plant out
In flower
SowPlant outIn flower

At a glance

Height
60–90cm
Spread
30cm
Spacing
30cm
Position
Full sun
Colour
White
Seeds per packet
200
Soil
Lean, well-drained — no manure or fertiliser
Grow guide How to grow Cornflower Snowman Read the full guide →

About this variety

Pure white double Ball blooms with a faint blush at the centre, just enough warmth to stop the flower reading as cold. It has been the English wedding buttonhole for generations and it is hard to improve on for the job.

What white does in an arrangement is make everything near it look more saturated. A jug of mixed cornflowers with 'Snowman' in it reads brighter than the same jug without. That is the practical reason to grow it even if white was not what you thought you wanted.

The drawback of any white flower is that it shows everything. Heavy rain spots and browns the outer petals, mud splashes stay visible, and a bloom past its best looks tired rather than gracefully faded. Cut it young, cut it often, and cut ahead of rain if you have a use for it. It is otherwise as tough as the rest of the family, hardy well below anything Norfolk produces, and happy on lean dry ground where fussier things sulk.

RHS Plants for Pollinators

This plant has been assessed by the Royal Horticultural Society and recommended as especially beneficial to bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Growing plants like this directly supports UK pollinator populations — something close to our hearts at Salle Moor Hall Farm, where we see the difference a cottage garden full of the right plants can make.

Learn more at RHS.org.uk →