Xerochrysum bracteatum
Strawflower
Common names: Golden everlasting, Everlasting daisy
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Pot size
- from 5 l
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below 0 °C
- Water need
- Low
Photo: Harry Rose from Dungog, Australia · CC BY 2.0 · Source
Description
The strawflower, or Xerochrysum bracteatum, is named for its papery, straw‑like bracts that fan out in bright yellow, orange, red, and white. It is a classic dried flower that retains its color for months. From July until frost, it is a popular source of nectar for bees and a frequent cut‑flower supplier.
Care instructions
Start the plant in March on a windowsill, then transplant after the last frost (mid‑May, week 20) to a sunny, warm spot. Water moderately, avoid waterlogging. For dried bouquets, cut the flowers as soon as the outer bract circle opens and hang them upside down to dry.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingMar–May
HarvestJul–Sep
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 15 °C, ideally 22 °C
- Days to sprout
- 7 to 14 days
- Light
- Needs light to sprout
- Sowing depth
- Press in, don't cover
- How to start
- Start indoors, then plant out
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
sandy, loamy, well-drained, lean
Give the strawflower a lean, loose, free-draining soil. Sandy or sandy-loamy garden soil suits it best; avoid heavy clay soils and waterlogging, otherwise the roots rot. In a container, mix the compost with coarse sand for good drainage.
Feeding
Light feeder
Months
Mar–Apr
On normal garden soil you do not need to fertilise. If the soil is very lean, work some mature compost and horn shavings in shallowly when planting out in spring. That is enough for the season. In a container, sparing organic feeding during the growing season is sufficient; too many nutrients come at the expense of flowers.
Overwintering
The strawflower is not hardy in Central Europe and is most easily sown afresh every year from March on the windowsill as an annual summer flower. Only plants already growing in a container can be kept: before the first frost, place them bright and cool at around 5 to 10 °C in an unheated stairwell or a frost-free garage.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
- Cuttings
The easiest way to propagate the strawflower is by sowing. Start it under cover from the beginning of March indoors or in a heated greenhouse: scatter the fine seeds thinly on moist seed compost, press them in lightly and barely cover them (light-germinating seeds). At 15 to 20 °C they germinate within one to two weeks. Prick out the seedlings as soon as they can be handled, and plant them out in the bed, frost-free, after the Ice Saints (mid-May). Alternatively, you can sow directly outdoors, but only after the Ice Saints, as the species is frost-tender.
For named varieties and cultivars, sowing does not come true to type. The seedlings often turn out different in colour and habit. Here you propagate from cuttings: in spring or early summer, cut non-flowering shoot tips about 8 to 10 cm long, remove the lower leaves and insert them in a free-draining, lean propagation medium (for example a sand and perlite mix). Keep the medium evenly moist and stand the pots warm and bright, but out of direct midday sun. At summer temperatures of around 18 to 21 °C, roots form within two to three weeks.
Companion planting
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Strawflower yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
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