Wallflower is a long-flowering and delightfully fragrant plant. This mixture includes flowers in shades of creamy white, deep red, pale yellow, orange, and several bicoloured varieties, including pink-white and orange-red. Wallflower originates from the Mediterranean region. It was introduced to the Netherlands by the Romans, who brought it with them on their military campaigns as both an ornamental and medicinal plant. Its brightly coloured flowers provide a cheerful display. Wallflower is also known by several traditional names, including gillyflower. Thanks to its vivid colours and sweet fragrance, wallflower attracts large numbers of bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects, making it an excellent addition to any garden. Wallflower belongs to the cabbage family (Brassicaceae), which also includes vegetables such as cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, radishes, pak choi, and garden cress. Many ornamental flowering plants are also members of this family, including candytuft, rock cress, cuckooflower, dame's rocket, honesty, and stock.
Wallflower grows best in lime-rich, well-drained soil in a sunny position. Regularly removing faded flowers will encourage a longer flowering season and allow you to enjoy its beautiful blooms and delightful fragrance for even longer.
In nature, wallflowers are often found growing on old walls of churches, fortresses, and historic city ramparts, where the lime-rich mortar between the stones provides ideal growing conditions. In the Netherlands, wild wallflowers are now very rare and are listed as a protected species on the Dutch Red List. Wallflowers are especially attractive to butterflies such as the Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Peacock, Green-veined White, and Small White. Hardy biennial. Height: 50 - 90 cm.
Indoor sowing: April - June
Outdoor sowing: July - August
Germination: 10 - 15 days
Germination temp.: 15 - 20 °C
Sowing depth: ½ cm
Planting distance: 25 - 30 cm
Distance between rows: 25 cm
Plant position: sunny
Flowering period: May - September
Sowing indoors from April on. Sow the seeds in seed trays filled with well-moistened seed compost. Sow the seeds on the surface and do not cover them; instead, gently press them into the compost. Keep the compost consistently moist and warm. Cover the trays with a propagator lid or clear cover to retain moisture. Maintain an even temperature and avoid temperature drops, especially at night. Remove the cover as soon as the seedlings emerge.
Transplant the seedlings into individual pots once they are about 7 cm tall. From early May, harden off the young plants by placing them outside during the day for 10 - 14 days, bringing them indoors or placing them in a cold frame at night. Afterwards, plant them in a sunny location with well-drained soil. Space the plants 25 - 30 cm apart.
Sowing outdoors from July onwards. Sow in a sunny position with well-drained, preferably lime-rich soil. Sow the seeds thinly on the surface, gently firm them in, and cover with a thin layer of seed compost or fine soil. Keep the soil moist and free from weeds. Once the seedlings are large enough to handle, thin them to a spacing of 25 - 30 cm.
Protect seeds and young seedlings from birds. This plant is highly attractive to bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. It is a hardy biennial, producing flowers in its second year.
