Corn chamomile

Anthemis arvensis

In other languages: Valse kamille (Nederlands) · Anthémis des champs (Français)

Corn chamomile is a native cornfield flower found across much of Europe, especially on sandy and loamy arable land, along roadsides and on waste ground. It is an annual, sometimes biennial, with finely divided, softly hairy, grey-green leaves and branching stems 20–30 cm tall. From May to September white, daisy-like flower heads with a yellow centre appear. They look very much like those of true chamomile but lack its typical scent. Gardeners sow it in a wildflower mix or on a little patch of ‘cornfield’ in the garden, for bees, hoverflies and a long, relaxed display.

Updated on 9 October 2026

Light
Full sun
warm and bright
Moisture
Dry to normal
no wet feet
Legal basis
Sand or loam
acid to neutral
Hardiness
down to -10 °C
protect in harsh winters
Size
0.3 m
tall, 0.3 m wide
Flowering
May–September

Key facts
Height	0.3 m
Native to Belgium	Yes
Good for bees, butterflies and birds	Yes, for bees
Poisonous to people and pets	Not known to be poisonous
Flowering	May–September

Identify

Corn chamomile: how do you recognise it?

Habit: Loose, branching, ascending plant 20–30 cm tall and as wide.
Leaves: Finely divided, softly hairy and grey-green; without a strong smell when bruised.
Flower: Heads 2–3 cm across with white ray florets around a domed yellow centre, from May to September.
Receptacle: Solid, with small scales between the yellow disc florets; in true chamomile it is hollow and without scales.
Seed: Small, ribbed seeds, produced in abundance.

Flowering: May–September · Sowing: March–April and September

In your garden

Why grow it?

A long flowering season from May to September, with fresh white flower heads.
Bees, hoverflies and small beetles find pollen and nectar there.
A native plant that belongs in a wildlife garden or a cornfield patch.
Easy to sow where it is to flower, on poor soil and without fertiliser.
Lovely with poppies and cornflowers for a colourful cornfield look.

Corn chamomile: where does it grow best?

Full sun in an open spot.
Sandy or loamy, poor soil, acid to neutral; chalky soil suits it less well.
Dry to moderately moist; it copes well on dry soil.
Sow on bare, cultivated soil: in dense turf or among vigorous perennials it hardly germinates.

Light: Sun
Soil type: Sand or loam
Acidity: Acid or neutral
Moisture: Dry or normal
Size: 0.3 m tall, 0.3 m wide
Hardiness: Tolerates light frost (to -10 °C)

Goes well with

Cornflower: Bright blue flowers next to the white, a classic cornfield combination.
Corn poppy: Red flowers in the same summer, on the same open, cultivated soil.
Corn marigold: Yellow flower heads that stand out against the white chamomile flowers.
Corncockle: Pinkish-purple flowers on long stems above the low corn chamomile.

Maintenance

Corn chamomile: when and how to plant it?

Sow where it is to flower in March–April or in September; a September sowing flowers earlier the following year.
Clear the soil of weeds and rake it to a fine tilth, without fertiliser or compost.
Sow thinly and broadcast; mix the seed with a little sand to spread it evenly.
Press the seed in or roll the soil, and cover it with at most a thin layer of soil.
Keep the soil moist until the seedlings are up.
Thin to 20–30 cm if you want individual plants; in a mix, just leave them.

Care

Watering: After germination, only during long dry spells. It copes well on dry soil.
Feeding: Not needed: on rich soil it becomes floppy and other plants crowd it out.
Deadheading: Cut off faded heads for a longer display, or leave them so it self-seeds.
Weeding: Keep grass and other weeds away in the first weeks: a cornfield flower copes badly with competition.
Clearing up: Pull out dead plants once the seed is ripe and lightly cultivate the soil so new seed can germinate.

Tip: Lightly rake the soil every autumn or spring: the fallen seed then gets the bare soil it needs, and it comes back year after year.

Corn chamomile: when to prune it?

When: No pruning is needed. You can deadhead faded flower heads to extend flowering.

How:

Cut faded heads back to the next bud.
In August–September let some of the flowers set seed so it comes back next year.
In autumn pull out or cut down dead plants, and leave them lying for a few days so the seed drops.

Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed: Sow where it is to flower in March–April or September. Collect seed in August–September from dry heads and store it dry until sowing.
Self-seeding: If you leave the plants until the seed is ripe, it often comes back on its own on loosened soil.

Corn chamomile: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −10 °C: protect in harsh winters.

Plants from a September sowing overwinter as small rosettes; they tolerate frost down to about −10 °C.
A spring sowing dies after flowering and setting seed; no overwintering is needed.
In a very wet or severe winter, autumn seedlings may be lost; then sow again in March–April.

Diseases and pests

Aphids: Green or black aphids on the stem tips. Ladybirds and hoverflies usually clear them up.
Floppy growth: On rich or fertilised soil the plant falls over. Sow it on poor soil, without fertiliser.
Crowded out by grass: In turf it barely germinates and soon disappears. Lightly cultivate the soil every year, as in a field.
Powdery mildew: White powder on the leaves in late summer, especially in dry weather. At the end of the season it does little harm; do not sow too thickly.

Through the year

March: Sow where it is to flower on finely raked soil.
April: Sow. Keep seedlings free of weeds.
May: First flowers, especially from the autumn sowing.
June: Full flower. Bees and hoverflies on the flowers.
July: In flower. Deadhead or let seed form.
August: In flower. Collect seed from dry heads.
September: Last flowers. Sow in place for early flowers next year.
October: Clear dead plants. Leave the rosettes from the autumn sowing.

Use

Good for wildlife

Bees: Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

You and this species

Did you know?

Anthemis comes from the Greek anthemon, ‘flower’; arvensis means ‘of the fields’.
Cut a flower head in half lengthwise: true chamomile is hollow inside, corn chamomile is solid with small scales between the yellow disc florets.
Like many cornfield flowers, corn chamomile has become rarer because of cleaned seed, fertilisers and weed control in farming.

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