How to Grow Strawflowers from Seed (Helichrysum bracteatum)

Strawflowers are the flowers that refuse to die. Their bright, papery "petals" are not petals at all but stiff bracts that crackle when you touch them, and they hold their colour for a year or more after you pick them. That makes Helichrysum bracteatum the backbone of almost every dried bouquet — and one of the easiest annuals you can raise from a packet of seed. This guide explains how to grow strawflowers from seed, from a spring sowing on the windowsill to cutting the heads at exactly the right moment for drying, so you get firm, colourful flowers rather than fluffy seed heads.

• Sow March–April indoors at 18–20 °C · or direct in May once frosts are over
• Germination 7–14 days · surface-sow, the seed needs light
• Plant out late May–June, 25–30 cm apart, full sun, poor to average soil
• Flowers July to the first frost · cut for drying when the centre is still closed

What strawflowers are (and why the name keeps changing)

The strawflower is an Australian daisy. For most of the last century it was sold as Helichrysum bracteatum, which is still the name on most seed packets — including ours — and the one gardeners search for. Botanists have since moved it to its own genus, Xerochrysum bracteatum; it is exactly the same plant. In its native grasslands it is a short-lived perennial, but it will not survive a northern European winter outdoors, so we grow it as a half-hardy annual: sown in spring, flowering from midsummer, finished by the first hard frost.

What looks like a ring of petals is a set of overlapping bracts around a central disc of tiny true flowers. The bracts close up in damp weather and at night and open again in sun, and because they are already dry and stiff on the plant, they keep their shape and colour when the head is dried. You will find our varieties in the Helichrysum bracteatum collection: the tall Monstrosum type, around 80 cm with large double heads for cutting, and the compact Tom Thumb mix, around 40 cm, which suits edging, pots and the front of a border.

When to sow strawflower seeds

Strawflowers need a long, warm season to give you a good harvest of heads, so most gardeners start them indoors. Sow from mid-March to mid-April on a windowsill or in a propagator; plants sown then start flowering in July. You will find them alongside everything else that goes in at that time in the March and April sowing collections, and in our flower sowing calendar.

You can also sow directly where they are to flower in May, once the soil has warmed and the last frost has passed. Direct-sown plants flower a few weeks later, from about August, but need no pricking out or hardening off. Do not sow outdoors earlier: cold, wet soil rots the seed, and a single late frost kills young plants — our guide to protecting plants from frost explains why half-hardy annuals wait.

How to sow strawflowers indoors

• Use a fine seed compost. Fill a tray or modules, firm gently and water before sowing.
• Sow on the surface. Strawflower seed needs light to germinate. Press it lightly onto the compost and do not cover it, or cover with no more than a dusting of vermiculite.
• Keep it warm. 18–20 °C is ideal; seedlings usually appear within one to two weeks.
• Keep it just moist. Mist the surface or water from below. Like most daisies, strawflower seedlings sulk in soggy compost — see our notes on damping off.
• Give them light. Move the tray to the brightest spot you have as soon as the seedlings show, so they stay short and sturdy.

When the seedlings have their first true leaves, prick them out into small pots or module trays, one per cell. For the basics of warmth, moisture and timing, see our guide to germinating seeds.

Planting out and growing on

Harden off the young plants for a week or two and plant them out from late May, once nights stay above about 5 °C. Choose the sunniest, most open spot you have. Strawflowers come from dry grassland and do best in poor to average, free-draining soil — rich soil and feeding give you leafy, floppy plants with fewer heads. Space them 25–30 cm apart, or a little closer for Tom Thumb.

When the plants are about 15–20 cm tall, pinch out the growing tip just above a pair of leaves. It costs you a week of flowering but gives a bushier plant with many more stems. Water young plants until they establish; after that they cope well with dry spells. Tall varieties such as Monstrosum benefit from a few canes and string or a horizontal net in an exposed garden, as heavy heads can bend stems after rain.

How to grow strawflowers from seed: step by step

1. Mid-March–April: surface-sow indoors Fine seed compost, seed pressed on and left uncovered, 18–20 °C.
2. After 1–2 weeks: move into bright light Keep the compost just moist and the seedlings cool enough to stay stocky.
3. First true leaves: prick out One seedling per module or small pot; grow on in a bright, frost-free place.
4. Late May–June: harden off and plant Full sun, lean soil, 25–30 cm apart, after the last frost.
5. At 15–20 cm: pinch the tips More side shoots mean more stems for cutting.
6. July onwards: cut every few days Pick heads while the centre is still closed — the more you cut, the more the plant makes.

When to pick strawflowers for drying

Timing is the one thing that separates a good dried strawflower from a disappointing one. Cut the heads when the outer one or two rows of bracts have opened but the centre is still a tight, closed bud. The flower keeps opening as it dries. If you wait until it looks perfect on the plant, it will open fully in the vase, show its yellow centre, and soon turn into a fluffy seed head that sheds.

Pick on a dry day, after the morning dew has gone. Then choose one of two methods:

Dried strawflowers keep their colour best out of direct sunlight. They pair beautifully with the other everlastings — see how to dry statice and how to dry Chinese lanterns for the same principles applied to papery calyces and flower clusters.

Common mistakes when growing strawflowers

• Covering the seed. Strawflower seed needs light; a layer of compost on top slows or stops germination.
• Planting out too early. A single frost kills young plants. Wait until late May or June.
• Rich soil and feeding. Lush plants make leaves, not heads, and flop after rain.
• Cutting too late. A fully open flower keeps opening as it dries and ends up as fluff. Pick with the centre closed.
• Drying in the light. A sunny windowsill bleaches the colours. Dry and display out of direct sun.
• Leaving heads on the plant. Regular cutting keeps new buds coming; a plant left to set seed slows down.

Frequently asked questions

Are strawflowers annual or perennial?
Botanically they are short-lived perennials from Australia, but they are not frost hardy, so in Britain and northern Europe they are grown as half-hardy annuals and sown fresh every spring.

How long does it take strawflowers to flower from seed?
About 12–14 weeks. A March or April sowing indoors starts flowering in July; a May sowing outdoors from about August. Plants keep flowering until the first frost if you keep cutting.

Can I grow strawflowers in pots?
Yes — the compact Tom Thumb types, around 40 cm, are ideal. Use a free-draining compost, a sunny spot and a pot at least 25 cm across for three plants. See container gardening from seed for more tips.

Can I save my own strawflower seed?
Yes. Leave a few heads on the plant until they turn fluffy and brown, then rub out the seed on a dry day and store it cool and dry. Seed from mixed colours will give a mix again. Our guide to seed saving covers the basics.

A short row of strawflowers sown next spring gives you summer colour in the garden and a winter's worth of dried bouquets indoors. Grow them with other everlastings — statice, helipterum, craspedia and nigella seed heads — and fill out the jar with ornamental grasses. Browse all our flowers for drying, cut flowers and flower seeds, start with our beginner's guide to growing flowers from seed, or explore the rest of our growing guides.