Annual
How to grow love-in-a-mist (nigella)
Nigella damascena
Love-in-a-mist is a hardy annual sown direct where it is to flower, 5 mm deep in full sun, from March to May or in September for earlier, bigger plants the next year. It flowers from June to August and then makes striped, balloon-like seed pods. It has a tap root and hates being moved, so do not start it in trays, and it flowers best on ordinary, unfed, free-draining soil. Thin to 15 cm.
- Hardiness
- Hardy annual
- Position
- Full sun
- Soil
- Free-draining, average
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.5
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- Light feeder
Sowing and planting love-in-a-mist (nigella)
WhenSow Mar to May or Sep direct; flowers Jun to Aug
Starting off
Sow direct Mar to May 5 mm deep where it is to flower, germination 10 to 14 days at 15 °C; thin to 15 cm, as it hates transplanting. A Sep sowing overwinters outdoors for flowers from late May. Let a few seed pods ripen in Aug and shake them where you want next year's plants.
Spacing and planting
Thin to 15 to 20 cm apart; sow 5 mm deep in rows 25 cm apart or broadcast thinly. Fine in a 25 cm pot sown direct.
Varieties worth growing
- 'Miss Jekyll'
- The standard: semi-double sky-blue flowers on 45 cm stems. Comes true from saved seed if grown alone.
- 'Persian Jewels'
- A mix of blue, pink, mauve and white; the one to sow if you want a cottage-garden drift.
- 'Albion Black Pod'
- White flowers followed by deep purple-black seed pods; grown as much for drying as for flower.
- 'Oxford Blue'
- Taller, to 75 cm, with darker blue double flowers and dark pods; the best of the blues for cutting.
- N. papillosa 'African Bride'
- A different species: flat white flowers with a near-black centre and spidery pods, on stiff 70 cm stems.
Month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Nothing to do. Autumn seedlings sit as small ferny rosettes.
- February
Nothing to do.
- March
First direct sowing on light soil. Thin autumn and self-sown seedlings to 15 cm.
- April
Main sowing. Sow again three weeks later for a longer season.
- May
Last sowing. Thin April rows. Autumn-sown plants begin to flower at the end of the month.
- June
Flowering. Cut for the vase when the flower is fully coloured.
- July
Flowering. Deadhead some plants to keep them going; leave others for pods.
- August
Cut pods for drying while still green and striped; hang upside down. Let a few ripen for seed.
- September
Collect dry seed in paper bags. Sow direct for next year. Pull spent plants.
- October
Check autumn seedlings and thin if crowded.
- November
Nothing to do.
- December
Nothing to do.
Feeding love-in-a-mist (nigella)
Do not feed it. Love-in-a-mist flowers best on ordinary soil, and nitrogen gives tall, soft foliage with few flowers. The only exceptions are a pot or very thin sand.
Low, undemanding; rich soil reduces flowering.
Feeding plan
Sowing, ordinary garden soil
No feed
None, and no manure or fresh compost either. Rake to a fine surface and sow.
Before sowing, on very thin, sandy soil only
50 g/m², the bottom of the label range, raked into the surface once. It supplies trace elements with very little nitrogen.
May to June, pots only, if leaves pale
1 g per litre of water as a drench, once or twice 2 to 3 weeks apart. Stop when buds show.
This plant needs no fertiliser in ordinary soil. The two seaweed products are listed only for the pot and thin-sand exceptions in the feeding plan.
Signs to watch
Lush foliage and few flowers
Nitrogen excess
No feed; grow on lean ground
Yellow, stunted plants on compacted ground
Poor drainage
Fork and add grit before the next sowing
Plants finish early in a hot Jul
Drought, not nutrition
Water once and resow in Sep
Pests, diseases and problems
Seedlings vanish or are grazed off, mostly from autumn sowings
Slugs and snails in mild, wet weather
Sow a little thicker than you need and thin later; keep the ground round the row clear of weeds and debris; torch patrols in October and March.
Plants raised in trays stall, stay small and flower on a single short stem
Root disturbance at transplanting; the tap root does not recover
Sow direct. If you must start under cover, sow two seeds per small module and plant out the whole plug before roots reach the bottom.
September seedlings rot off over winter
Cold, waterlogged soil, usually heavy clay
On clay sow in spring instead, or sow in autumn on a raised strip with grit raked in. The seedlings stand ordinary cold, and a cloche helps in a hard winter; it is wet that kills them.
A dense patch of thin plants 15 cm tall, each with one small flower
Overcrowding, typically from self-sown seed
Thin to 15 to 20 cm apart in March or April while seedlings are small. One well-spaced plant branches and carries dozens of flowers.
Pruning
Pruning and care
No staking; the feathery foliage supports itself. Deadhead to prolong flowering or leave the inflated seed pods, which dry well for arrangements. Cut and pull the plants in Sep after collecting dry seed in paper bags. Autumn-sown seedlings usually overwinter outdoors but may need a cloche in cold gardens.
Good to knowSow direct (dislikes transplanting); leaves attractive seed pods, and self-seeds.
Growing in pots
It grows well enough in a pot provided it is sown there. Fill a pot at least 25 cm wide and deep with peat-free multipurpose mixed with a third grit or sharp sand, scatter the seed thinly in March or April, cover with 5 mm of compost and thin to about five plants. Stand it in full sun and water when the top 2 cm is dry; it tolerates a dry spell better than a wet one. Plants in pots are smaller than in the ground and finish sooner, so sow a second pot three weeks after the first.
Common questions
Does love-in-a-mist come back every year?
The plants do not, as it is an annual that dies after setting seed, but it self-seeds so freely that it usually reappears in the same place each year. Leave a few pods to ripen and split, then thin the seedlings in spring. Mixed colours drift towards blue over the years.
Can I sow love-in-a-mist in autumn?
Yes, sow direct in September and the seedlings usually overwinter on well-drained soil, with a cloche over them in a cold garden, flowering from late May on bigger plants than a spring sowing gives. On heavy, wet clay wait until March instead.
Can you eat the seeds of love-in-a-mist?
No, they are not the culinary nigella seed. The black 'onion seed' or kalonji used in cooking comes from a different species, Nigella sativa. Nigella damascena is grown as an ornamental and its seed should not be used in the kitchen.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.