Ammi Majus Queen Anne’s Lace Summer Flower Plant
QUEEN ANNE’S LACE
The delicately branching flower heads of ammi majus are reminiscent of fine lace or dill, although the appearance of the latter is closer to that of Ammi visnaga, which is featured below. Ammi majus is one of the most satisfactory plants for adding volume to a bouquet, and its presence in natural borders is not to be despised.
The species originally grew in southern Europe and the neighboring areas of Asia and Africa. Its development, unfortunately, is rather slow. The plants need about 4 months to come into flower, which means that they do not usually start flowering until late July, after which they continue until September. In the period before flowering, the plants look rather tenuous, although their feathery greyish-green foliage is quite pretty. When in flower, however, the approximately 3-ft tall plants fill out considerably and then need space to achieve their full spread.
If the seeds are sown indoors in winter or early spring, flowering may be brought forward considerably, but in that case the small plants should be transplanted with their balls of soil in May, because they dislike having their roots disturbed. Early cultivation does not affect the length of their flowering season. The plants begin to set seed several weeks after coming into flower, but their yellow-green umbels will remain in the border for weeks and new flower heads will continue to be produced for some time. Give them a sunny position and average amounts of water.
