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Blue Flower I Can't Identify

Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis

16 years ago

Dropping by from the tree forums

I've had this collection of blue blooming plants growing around a red maple now for a few years.

They're probably from a "wildflower" seed packet my wife spread around, I suspect they're the only ones that lived down by the tree. Oh, and rabbits seem to like them. One I dug up and put in a drier spot by some yellow leafed sumacs was ate up by the rabbits pretty quickly.

The spot they're growing in is full sun and fairly wet. Oh, and

Any help figuring out what they are would be appreciated! If you need more pictures or any particular portion of the plant let me know. I only had my cell phone with me earlier.

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Comments (3)

terrestrial_man
16 years ago
Looks like Centaurea

Here is a link that might be useful: Centaurea cyanus
Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you.

Interesting, naturalized I guess? Wikipedia lists it as European. Even says this is becoming rare naturally in England.

So, is this an "exotic" plant like my Metasequoia (Dawn Redwood) which apparently doesn't matter if I plant it. Or is it invasive like mimosa where I should avoid it?
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jg_coleman
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Well, they do look like Bachelor's Buttons... definitely garden escapees. Here in Connecticut we usually just see various knapweeds, which are very closely related and also alien species (with the exception of the American Knapweed... the only native Centaurea I've heard of). Many people grow Bachelor's Buttons, so I don't think you have to worry about it taking over your lawn, but the choice is yours. Needless to say, if the plant is invading the wild habitats in your area, then planting them in your garden will likely contribute to helping the alien species gain a larger foothold.

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