Love-in-a-Mist Miss Jekyll Indigo Blue

Love-in-a-Mist Miss Jekyll Indigo Blue — variety description

Love-in-a-Mist Miss Jekyll Indigo Blue (Nigella damascena) is an annual flower of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). Brilliant blue flowers and decorative seed pods for fresh and dried bouquets. Fluffy star-shaped blooms on stiff stems.

The flowers attract and feed bees, as well as other beneficial insects. Also known as Love-in-a-mist.

Nigella (“love-in-a-mist”) has airy flowers in delicate clouds of foliage, and its decorative seed pods are great for dried bouquets. The seeds of Nigella sativa (black cumin) are also a spice.

Key features

• Measured germination rate of the batch: 90%
• Pack size: 1 g
• Sowing: March – May and September – November; direct
• Flowering: June and July
• Position: sunny spot

When to sow Love-in-a-Mist Miss Jekyll Indigo Blue

Love-in-a-Mist Miss Jekyll Indigo Blue seeds are sown in March – May and September – November. The plants flower in June and July. The months are a guide for a temperate climate — in warmer areas sow 1–2 weeks earlier, in cooler or upland areas, later.

How to sow and grow Love-in-a-Mist Miss Jekyll Indigo Blue

• Sowing method: direct
• Depth: 0.5–1 cm
• Spacing: 15–20 cm
• Germination: 10–14 days at 15–20 °C
• Position: sunny spot

Sow directly from late winter to spring or in autumn. The seeds are best sown in short drills 0.5 cm deep directly where they are to flower. Sow thinly once temperatures reach about 18°C. They prefer a sunny, open position, but will grow in most places and soils. Prepare the soil well and rake it to a fine tilth before sowing. Mark the sowing areas with a ring of light-coloured sand and a label if you are sowing more than one annual in the same bed. Sow 1 mm deep in rows 30 cm apart. The seeds germinate in about 21 days. Seedlings will appear in rows approximately 6 to 8 weeks after sowing and can easily be recognised among nearby weed seedlings. Thin the seedlings so that they are finally 23 cm apart by early summer. The compost should be kept lightly moist, but not wet, at all times. For earlier flowering next year, an early autumn sowing can be made in sheltered spots. Planted in autumn, it will put down a taproot and form a rosette of feathery leaves over winter. When temperatures warm up in spring, the flower stems shoot upwards.

Sow directly in autumn or early spring; it dislikes transplanting. Self-seeds.

Flowering and uses

The pods are cut for drying when they turn brown.

Frequently asked questions

When should Love-in-a-Mist Miss Jekyll Indigo Blue be sown?

The recommended months for sowing are March – May and September – November. Sowing method: direct.

What is the germination rate of the seeds?

The measured germination rate of this batch is 90%. The test was carried out under controlled laboratory conditions; in the field, emergence depends on soil, temperature and moisture.