We’ve all become accustomed to seeing carrots in unusual colours – purple, yellow, white – we see them in the supermarket. But what about carrot flowers in unusual colours, for cutting?
More and more florists are using flowers of wild carrot, I’ve seen slightly pink-tinted wild carrot flowers growing by the roadside, and I came across seed of a very pale pink-flowered form a few years back. ‘Dara’ is altogether more dramatic – with pink flowers maturing to crimson purple.
But why would I want to grow a carrot with purple flowers in the first place? Cut flower growers have been increasingly growing wild carrots for cutting as the white flowers, although similar to the popular Ammi majus, are much longer lasting. ‘Dara’ is different; the flower heads of ‘Dara’ open white, then become pink and finally mature to dark reddish purple. The individual plants vary a little in colour, but all move through this same progression of colour and should reach 60-120cm in height.
It’s recommended that seed is sown in spring to cut the flowers in summer – but in North America carrot for cut flower is treated as a biennial and I suspect it would also be worth sowing seed here in Britain in late summer to flower the following year. Cut the stems when about three quarters of the individual florets are open.
They should also look lovely amongst roses, and can be allowed to self sow.
Source: RHS My Garden – Carrot ‘Dara’: Lovely New Cut flower – Graham Rice’s New Plants Blog
