Growing Nigella in the garden, also known as love in a mist plant (Nigella damascena), offers an interesting, peek-a-boo flower to be glimpsed through showy bracts. Care of love in a mistflower is easy, and its interesting blooms well worth the effort. Learn more about how to grow Nigella love in a mist so you can enjoy this unusual flower in your garden.
I. Appearance and Characteristics
Nigella damascena, love-in-a-mist, or devil in the bush, is an annual garden flowering plant, belonging to the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is native to southern Europe (but adventive in more northern countries of Europe), north Africa and southwest Asia, where it is found on neglected, damp patches of land.
The specific epithet damascena relates to Damascus in Syria. The plant’s common name “love-in-a-mist” comes from the flower being nestled in a ring of multifid, lacy bracts.
It grows to 20–50 cm (8–20 in) tall, with pinnately divided, thread-like, alternate leaves. The flowers, blooming in early summer, are most commonly different shades of blue, but can be white, pink, or pale purple, with 5 to 25 sepals. The actual petals are located at the base of the stamens and are minute and clawed. The sepals are the only colored part of the perianth. The four to five carpels of the compound pistil each have an erect style.
The fruit is a large and inflamed capsule, growing from a compound ovary, and is composed of several united follicles, each containing numerous seeds. This is rather exceptional for a member of the buttercup family. The capsule becomes brown in late summer. The plant self-seeds, growing on the same spot year after year.
This easily grown plant has been a familiar subject in English cottage gardens since Elizabethan times, admired for its ferny foliage, spiky flowers and bulbous seed-heads. It is now widely cultivated throughout the temperate world, and numerous cultivars have been developed for garden use. ‘Persian Jewels’ is a mixture of white, pink, lavender and blue flowers. ‘Persian Rose’ is pale pink. Other cultivars are ‘Albion’, ‘Blue Midget’, ‘Cambridge Blue’, ‘Mulberry Rose’, and ‘Oxford Blue’. ‘Dwarf Moody Blue’ is around 15 cm (6 in) high. The pale blue ‘Miss Jekyll’ and the double white-flowered ‘Miss Jekyll Alba’ have gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.
II. How to Grow and Care
Sunlight
For the most blooms, plant love-in-a-mist in full sun; it will do fine in partial shade but will produce fewer blooms.
Temperature and Humidity
Sow in the early spring months when the soil temperature has reached 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The plant thrives in temperatures between 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
Watering
Love-in-a-mist likes consistent moisture, Water it slowly but deeply until the top couple of inches of the soil are well-saturated.
Soil
N. damascena is not overly particular about soil quality, but it will grow and bloom best in nutrient-rich, fertile soil. When it grows in native areas, the plant prefers moist sandy soil, though it doesn’t like to sit in wet soil and does best with a neutral soil pH. Love-in-a-mist can tolerate somewhat dry conditions as well as other types of soil, including loam, clay-loam, and gravelly.
Fertilizing
Add a general-purpose fertilizer to the soil when planting Nigella damascena, and then fertilize it once a month afterward. For the amount to use, follow the product label instructions.
Pruning
Cutting flowers for bouquets and deadheading will keep your plants flowering a bit longer, but you’ll sacrifice the fascinating seed pods. Love-in-a-mist easily self-sows, so you can thin the seedlings to prevent overcrowding. Harvest for bouquets when flower buds have fully colored or pods have begun to develop.
Propagation
As an annual that does not like to be transplanted, love-in-a-mist is best grown from seed. The plant easily reseeds itself and if you are lucky, the seeds overwinter in the garden and burst to life in the spring.
How to Grow From Seed
The seeds are best direct-sown outdoors which avoids disturbing the roots during transplanting.
Seeds can be sown from early spring throughout the summer and even into fall in climates with mild winters where the plants might be able to overwinter.
- When sowing seeds in early spring, do so when the soil temperature reaches 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Scatter the seeds in a sunny location. Rake them in. You don’t need to cover the seeds with soil, but they do need to be pressed down slightly. Cover lightly with soil because light is required for germination.
- Keep the soil moist. Germination takes from two to three weeks.
- Thin seedlings so they’re spaced eight to ten inches apart.
Potting and Repotting
You can grow love-in-a-mist in pots if the pot is large and deep enough for the size of the mature plant. For a single plant, use a one-gallon container with large drainage holes. Clay and terracotta containers are usually best because excess moisture evaporates through the material quickly.
Repotting is not recommended because of the plant’s taproot.
Pests and Diseases
Luckily, N. damascena is virtually problem-free once established, probably because the plants don’t live long enough to be bothered by pests or disease.
How to Get to Bloom
If this plant is struggling to bloom, make sure it has adequate water and fertilizer, and thin the plants to create more room between them. Consider sowing them in a brighter area next time. Take the time to deadhead the flowers to encourage more blooming
III. Uses and Benefits
Love-in-a-mist has been cultivated in cottage gardens in England since the 1500s. This classic blue flower looks lovely in borders and beds, and, with the right watering strategy, can thrive in containers. It should be placed in a location where its fine texture and striking flowers aren’t drowned out by taller plants. Pair it with dianthus, cosmos, and cranesbill.
IV. Types of Love-in-a-Mist
Several N. damascena cultivars have been developed for gardens throughout temperate areas. Common cultivars include:
- ‘Miss Jekyll’, a popular and common variety with flowers in shades of white, blue, and rose
- ‘Miss Jekyll Alba’, a double, white-flowered cultivar with bright green seed pods
- ‘Persian Jewels’, a mixture of purple, pink, lavender, blue, rose, and white shades that grows 12 to 18 inches tall
- ‘Blue Midget’, a dwarf variety that grows to only about ten inches tall; suitable for edging
- ‘Cambridge Blue’, a long-stemmed variety with double blue flowers and best for cutting
- Other cultivars worth looking into include ‘Mulberry Rose’, ‘Oxford Blue’, and ‘Albion’.
