When to Plant Nigella (Love-in-a-Mist): Fall and Spring Sowing

Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) is an old-fashioned cottage-garden annual in the buttercup family, from southern Europe and northern Africa (Wisconsin Horticulture, NC State). It grows 15 to 24 inches tall (Wisconsin Horticulture), with feathery leaves and blue, white, pink or lavender flowers sitting in a "mist" of threadlike bracts. After the flowers come striped, balloon-shaped seed pods that are popular in dried arrangements. It is not the same plant as Nigella sativa, the black cumin used as a spice (Wisconsin Horticulture).

Fall sowing

NC State says fall is usually the better time to sow, because the young seedlings are winter-hardy. Wisconsin Horticulture adds that in many areas, summer or fall sowings overwinter and grow into earlier, larger plants the next spring (which also finish earlier). Neither source gives a fall date, so the table below is GardenPal's estimate, aiming for small seedlings before winter:

How well fall seedlings survive depends on your winter. If you aren't sure, sow half the seed in fall and save half for early spring (GardenPal suggestion).

Spring sowing by last frost

For spring, NC State and Wisconsin Horticulture both say to sow as soon as the soil can be worked. Nigella tolerates frost, so it can go in well before the last frost. The sowing column is GardenPal's estimate of when soil is usually workable, and the bloom column is our arithmetic from Wisconsin Horticulture's "about three months after planting":

Successive sowings for longer bloom

Each sowing blooms for only a month or two (Wisconsin Horticulture). To keep flowers coming, Wisconsin Horticulture suggests sowing every three weeks, and NC State says that where summers are cool you can sow every 3 to 4 weeks until midsummer. Wisconsin Horticulture notes that spring-sown plants are often smaller with smaller flowers, and that love-in-a-mist does not do well in hot weather, so in hot-summer areas the fall sowing is usually the better show (GardenPal note, based on both sources).

Site, soil and care

Drying the seed pods

Both the flowers and the pods work in fresh or dried arrangements. Wisconsin Horticulture says to harvest pods while the stripes are still visible and hang them upside down in a dry, dark, airy place, ideally in a paper bag to catch the seeds. Strip the lower leaves from cut flowers to make them last longer.

Nigella in the vegetable garden

Love-in-a-mist is a good gap-filler in an informal or cottage-style bed (Wisconsin Horticulture), and its cool-season timing matches sweet peas and early greens (GardenPal note). For other flowers to grow from seed alongside vegetables, see when to plant sweet peas, when to plant calendula and when to plant cosmos.

Frequently asked questions

When should I plant nigella (love-in-a-mist)?

NC State says fall sowing is usually better than spring, because young seedlings are winter-hardy. Otherwise sow in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked.

Can you transplant love-in-a-mist?

Not easily. It has a long taproot, so sow it where it will grow (Wisconsin Horticulture, NC State). If you start it indoors, use plantable peat pots 4 to 6 weeks ahead.

How long does nigella take to bloom?

About three months after planting, and each sowing blooms for only a month or two (Wisconsin Horticulture).

How do I get nigella to bloom all summer?

Sow again every three weeks (Wisconsin Horticulture), or every 3 to 4 weeks until midsummer where summers are cool (NC State).

Does love-in-a-mist come back every year?

It is an annual, but it readily self-sows. Remove pods early if you want fewer volunteers (Wisconsin Horticulture).

Is love-in-a-mist the same as black cumin?

No. Black cumin is Nigella sativa; love-in-a-mist is Nigella damascena (Wisconsin Horticulture).