Mignonette

Mignonette: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Loose, branching, slightly sprawling plant 30–40 cm tall and 20–25 cm wide.

Leaves

Spoon-shaped to oblong, light to mid-green, entire or sometimes three-lobed.

Flower

Small flowers with finely cut petals in dense, upright spikes at the tips of the stems.

Colour

Greenish yellow to creamy white, with conspicuous orange-brown stamens.

Scent

Sweet and strong; you smell it best in warm, still weather.

Roots

A taproot that resents being moved: so sow it where it is to flower.

Flowering: June–September · Sowing: April–May · Pruning: July–August

Why grow it?

• One of the most fragrant annuals: grow it by a seat, a window or a path.
• A long flowering season, from June to September, especially if you remove spent spikes.
• Bees like to visit the small flowers.
• It also grows well in a pot or window box on a balcony or patio.
• Easy to sow and undemanding, and it does well on chalky soil.
• The flower spikes make a charming small, scented posy.

Mignonette: where does it grow best?

• Sun or light partial shade; in a warm spot it is most fragrant.
• Ordinary, well-drained soil: sand, loam or clay, preferably neutral to chalky.
• Moist but not wet: neither too dry nor waterlogged.
• Preferably firm soil: it does less well in freshly dug, loose ground.
• Allow 20–25 cm between plants, or three to five plants in a 40 cm window box.

Light

Sun and partial shade

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Neutral or chalky

Moisture

Normal

Size

0.4 m tall, 0.25 m wide

Hardiness

Tolerates light frost (to -5 °C)

Goes well with

• Sweet pea: Another old-fashioned scented plant; together they make a fragrant corner.
• Flowering tobacco: Also fragrant and lovely by a seat in sun or light partial shade.
• Heliotrope: Purple, sweetly scented flowers in the same pot or box.
• Pot marigold: Brings colour next to the modest mignonette, in the same sunny spot.
• Lavender: Also likes sun and chalky soil, and adds colour and even more scent.

Mignonette: when and how to plant it?

1. Sow in April–May directly where it is to flower, or in the pot or box where it will stay.
2. Rake the soil fine and firm it lightly; on acid soil, scatter a little lime first.
3. Sow thinly, press the seed in and cover it with at most a thin layer of fine soil.
4. Keep the soil moist until the seedlings appear.
5. Thin to 20–25 cm as soon as you can handle the seedlings; avoid transplanting the thinnings.
6. Sow again in May for flowers until September.

Care

Water

Water in dry spells, especially in pots and boxes. A little regularly is better than a lot now and then.

Feeding

Not needed in the open ground. In a pot, a little liquid feed once a month.

Deadheading

Cut off faded spikes: it then forms new side spikes and flowers for longer.

Weeding

Keep the young sowing weed-free, as it grows slowly at first.

Support

Not needed; the stems sometimes sprawl a little, which looks charming in a pot or box.

Tip: Sow a few plants in a box by the window or back door: on warm days the sweet scent drifts into the house.

Mignonette: when to prune it?

Pruning months: July–August.

When: Mignonette is not really pruned. In July and August, though, regularly remove the faded flower spikes.

How:

• Cut faded spikes back to just above a leaf or a young side shoot.
• Pick a few spikes regularly for a posy: that too keeps the plant flowering.
• In September, let a few spikes set seed if you want to save your own.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Sow in April–May where it is to flower and barely cover the seed. Transplanting rarely works, so sow straight into the right spot.

Saving seed

In late summer, let a few spikes ripen until the seed capsules turn brown. Cut them and shake the seed out into a paper bag. Store it cool and dry.

Mignonette: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −5 °C: protect in harsh winters.

• Annual: it tolerates light frost down to about −5 °C, but dies after flowering or with the first hard frost.
• In autumn, pull up the dead plants and put them on the compost heap.
• It sometimes self-seeds; leave those seedlings where they come up in spring.
• In spring, wait to sow until the soil has warmed a little, in April or May.

Diseases and pests

• Slugs: They love the young seedlings. Check in the evening and pick them off, or sow in a box on a table.
• Caterpillars: Caterpillars of the small white butterfly sometimes eat the leaves. Check the undersides of the leaves and remove them.
• Sulking after transplanting: The taproot has been damaged. Sow in situ or in a pot where it can stay.
• Short flowering: In drought, or if the spikes are left to set seed, flowering stops early. Water and remove faded spikes.

Through the year

• April: Sow in situ or in a window box.
• May: Second sowing. Thin to 20–25 cm.
• June: First flowers and scent. Water in dry spells.
• July: Full flower. Remove faded spikes.
• August: Flowering. Remove faded spikes. Watch for caterpillars.
• September: Last flowers. Save seed.
• October: Clear away the dead plants.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• The name mignonette comes from French and means something like ‘little darling’.
• A related species, weld (Reseda luteola), was grown for centuries to make a yellow dye.
• The seed capsules are already open at the top before the seed is ripe.