Nigella, also known as Love in a Mist, is one of the most unusual and breathtakingly beautiful plants I have ever grown. Everything about this plant is stunning. It has the finest, softest leaves, the most incredible flowers with an alien like center, and when the petals fall off, the seedpod is alluring all on its own.
Basically, Nigella is the flower you didn’t know you always wanted to grow. For the most part these flowers are considered something that would have been grown in an old timey cottage garden, but with that cottage garden look coming back in style, Nigella is a perfect fit.
Like many flowers, Nigella is an annual bloom. This means once the flowers go to seed, the plant will have reached the official end of its life and in time it will die. To delay this process, you need to cut off the dead flowers which incidentally makes Nigella a great cutflower. The blooms come in a range of colours, including pink, white and blue, and when added to a bouquet, the leaves and the colours make an unforgettable combination and an interesting talking point, especially as not all that many people know this flower.
Types of Nigella
Love in a Mist is the most common type of Nigella, but there are a couple of other varieties that you can get seeds for. While the Love in a Mist Nigella is a showstopper all on its own, the Transformer Nigella takes things to another level altogether. The main difference between the two is the center of the flower, which is the seedpod. Both look quite different, with the Transformer Nigella being a lot more visually impactful. Aside from those two, you also get Nigella Albion, Nigella Delft Blue, and Nigella African Bride.
When you are choosing the seeds, the type you choose is going to depend on what you want to do with the flowers. If you are growing for beauty (i.e. you want to fill your garden with gorgeous blooms) then you should be safe with a mixed packet of Love in a Mist. You can still cut them for a bouquet but they will look just as stunning in a flower bed.
If you are growing purely to cut and you want to have more of one colour, then you can look for specialty varieties which come in specific colours. Albion and African Bride are a gorgeous white, and Delft Blue comes in various shades of blue. And the Nigella Transformer is just perfect if you want to add some texture to your cutflower bunches.
Sowing
I have tried direct sowing and sowing in trays and in my experience, tray sowing is best. The reason it is the best option, for me at least, is because it gives me more control over the watering and the amount of heat the seeds are exposed to.
The first time I sowed Nigella, it was towards the end of summer. The seedlings didn’t get out quickly, because I was waiting for the heavy rains to pass, and once the conditions were just right, I planted them out and then winter hit. I waited about 3 months before the plants took off and started giving me blooms. So here in the Lowveld, the seedlings went a little dormant in the middle of winter, but I still got a few flowers in July. One blessing for us Lowvelders is that we don’t get frost, or at least frost is rare.
The second time I sowed Nigella seeds is was in July and I had great success, although it definitely took longer for the seeds to germinate. And by the time the heat hit, the plants really struggled.
The best time, in my experience of growing Nigella in our Lowveld conditions, is the middle or end of summer. This way they can benefit from the heat, but then go into Autumn being a lot more comfortable with the weather conditions. The plant can then slow down during the very much colder days, before giving you fresh new blooms at the start of Spring.
Nigella seeds are easy to handle, because they are quite big. You can plant them in a light seed starting mix by pushing the seed into the soil and then covering it. I push the soil in with the tip of my finger, creating an indent and then I cover the seed. The soil should not be left to go dry, make sure that it stays moist.
When the seedlings have 2 sets of leaves, you can upgrade their home to someplace bigger or put them into your garden bed, just make sure that they get enough water.
Growing
Nigella doesn’t need the best soil, but it does like some compost as well as the occasional dose of plant food. I have found that Nigella handles dry spells fairly easily but they can get stunted if they go for long periods without water.
Nigella plants get really long stems and they are not the strongest. To keep the flowers upright, you can think about staking them or you can grow your Nigella plants close together, like 10 to 20 cm apart, and the plants will hold each other up.
As mentioned above, if you want to keep the plant going, make sure you keep cutting it and removing the dead heads. If you leave the flowers until they lose their petals and then allow the pod to go brown and crackly, you can harvest the seeds and either replant immediately or save them for the next season. Alternatively, you can let the seeds fall and when the conditions are just right, the seeds will germinate.
Seed suppliers
Seeds for Africa – https://www.seedsforafrica.co.za/products/nigella-sativa-black-cumin-black-caraway-medicinal-plant-20-seeds?_pos=1&_sid=3a19df2b4&_ss=r
Kirchoffs Seeds – http://www.kirchhoffs.co.za/product-category/flowers/nigella/
Flower Cartel – https://www.theflowercartel.co.za/shop/
Adene’s Flowers – https://www.adeneflowers.co.za/products/consumer-goods?f%5B0%5D=category%3A5&f%5B1%5D=category%3A42
