Phacelia Wildflower Seed

PHACELIA TANACETIFOLIA

Phacelia is pollinator rocket fuel. Purple blue flowers, ferny leaves, and the kind of nectar offering that makes bees behave like someone has opened a free bar.

It is often used as green manure, which sounds deeply unglamorous until you realise it means this plant can look beautiful, feed pollinators, and help improve soil. Useful and attractive. Annoyingly talented.

Fast growing, easy, and buzzing with life, Phacelia is perfect if you want quick colour and a garden that sounds alive. It is not a wallflower. It is the entire pollinator nightclub.

Phacelia likes sunny spots, open ground, and free draining soil. It is an annual, so it is a great choice for quick flowers.

Rip - Clear weeds, grass, and debris. Rake the soil so you have a loose, open surface.

Scatter - Scatter the seed thinly across the soil. Do not sow too thickly, as plants need space to flower well.

Sow - Press the seed into the surface, or cover very lightly with soil.

When to sow - For best results sow from March to May for flowers in the same year. You can also sow from August to September in milder conditions.

Where to sow - Choose a sunny spot with open, free draining soil and low competition. Phacelia is excellent for annual wildflower patches, wildlife borders, veg garden edges, and pollinator strips.

After sowing, keep the soil lightly moist while the seeds get going.

Once you can see green shoots, keep big weeds and thick grass away. Phacelia grows quickly in the right spot, so it usually becomes fairly easy once it is moving.

Do not overfeed it. Too much richness can encourage leafy growth. If seedlings are crowded, gently pull a few out so the strongest ones have room to flower.

Phacelia usually flowers from June to September, depending on sowing time, producing purple blue flowers that are outstanding for bees and other pollinators.

It typically grows around 30 to 90 cm tall, giving quick height, colour, and movement.

It is an annual, so it flowers and sets seed in one season. Fast, useful, and absolutely alive with insects, Phacelia is the wildflower version of putting a giant “open” sign above your garden.

Yes, Phacelia can grow in pots.

Use a medium to large pot with drainage holes. Fill it with peat free, low nutrient compost mixed with sharp sand or grit to keep it free draining. Avoid rich compost. Wildflowers are not here for the luxury spa treatment.

Scatter the seed thinly, press it in, and place the pot somewhere sunny. Keep lightly moist while the seeds get going. Once growing, water when the compost starts to dry out.

We want your seeds to grow. If you follow our sowing instructions, give them a fair chance, and they still do not grow, we’ll put it right.

Eligible customers can choose either a refund for the seeds that did not grow, or replacement seeds of the same value.

For more information on our policy go to our No Grow No Fee page.