Nigella Blue Stars | Nigella bucharica

Nigella bucharica ‘Blue Stars’ | Love-in-a-Mist

Nigella bucharica ‘Blue Stars’ is a delicate-looking yet surprisingly robust annual, adored for its cerulean-blue, five-pointed star-shaped flowers that seem to float above airy, feathery foliage. Its slender, wiry stems carry dozens of upward-facing blooms, adding lightness, charm, and movement to spring and early summer borders, cottage gardens, containers, and cut-flower plantings.

Quick to grow from seed, ‘Blue Stars’ flowers reliably from June to September, producing a long and abundant display. Perfect as a border filler, it thrives even when direct-sown and requires very little care. This is a classic cut-and-come-again Nigella variety—regular cutting encourages even more blooms throughout the season.

Plant Information

• Botanical Name: Nigella bucharica
• Cultivar: ‘Blue Stars’
• Common Name: Love-in-a-Mist
• Plant Type: Annual
• Height: 30–50 cm (12–20 in)
• Spread / Spacing: Thin to 25 cm
• Flowering Season: June–September
• Flower Shape: Small, sky-blue star-shaped blooms
• Foliage: Fine, feathery, airy
• Uses: Borders, bedding, cut flower, containers
• Growth Habit: Upright, wiry stems with abundant blooms

Sowing Instructions

Direct Sowing (recommended):

• Sow 3 mm deep in rows 30 cm apart
• Ideal germination temperature: 18–20°C
• Germination: 10–21 days
• Thin seedlings to 25 cm once large enough to handle
• Can also be autumn-sown for earlier flowering the following year

Indoors:

• Not necessary—Nigella prefers direct sowing

Growing Information

• Extremely easy to grow
• Prefers full sun and well-drained soil
• Tolerates poor to average soil
• Excellent for informal borders and cottage-garden styles
• Beautiful in naturalistic plantings

Cut Flower / Harvest

• Cut when flowers are just opening
• Performs well as a cut-and-come-again variety
• Regular cutting encourages new blooms
• Deadhead if self-seeding is not desired
• Also excellent for dried seedpods later in the season

Why Grow ‘Blue Stars’?

• Star-shaped sky-blue flowers with ethereal, airy texture
• Strong stems ideal for small bouquets and arrangements
• Long flowering window: June–September
• Grows beautifully from direct sowing
• Low-maintenance “sow and enjoy” annual
• Perfect