When to plant and prune Love-in-a-mist
Love-in-a-mist flowers from early June to early August and the dates below cover planting, flowering and the pruning window.
Planting, flowering and pruning by region
Love-in-a-mist is grown to the calendar rather than to the frost, so the same dates apply across the whole UK and every region below reads the same. Where a plant’s timings do follow the frost, Plot shifts them from the Midlands and Lowland Wales baseline using Met Office average frost dates.
| Where you are | Plant | In flower | Prune |
|---|---|---|---|
| South West Coast and Cornwall | early March to early May | early June to early August | early June to late July |
| South Coast and Channel | early March to early May | early June to early August | early June to late July |
| Greater London (Urban Heat Island) | early March to early May | early June to early August | early June to late July |
| South East and Home Counties | early March to early May | early June to early August | early June to late July |
| East Anglia | early March to early May | early June to early August | early June to late July |
| Midlands and Lowland Wales | early March to early May | early June to early August | early June to late July |
| Wales and West Coast | early March to early May | early June to early August | early June to late July |
| Northern England | early March to early May | early June to early August | early June to late July |
| Scotland Lowlands and Central Belt | early March to early May | early June to early August | early June to late July |
| Scotland Highlands and Islands | early March to early May | early June to early August | early June to late July |
| Northern Ireland | early March to early May | early June to early August | early June to late July |
| Channel Islands and Isle of Man | early March to early May | early June to early August | early June to late July |
Growing notes
A very hardy annual that completes its life in one season and then dies, but self-seeds so freely that colonies persist without any effort; collect seed and sow it in early autumn for the best display. Sow direct where it is to flower - it resents transplanting. Flowers in summer, followed by inflated seed pods that dry well for winter arrangements. Will not perform in shade or in permanently wet ground.
At a glance
- Spacing
- 20 cm between plants
- Eventual height
- 45 cm
- Eventual spread
- 20 cm
- Hardiness
- H7
- Sun
- Full
- Frost tender
- No
- Grows in a container
- Yes, 10 litres or more
- Balcony rating
- 4 out of 5
Pruning group
Remove faded flowers to encourage more, but leave the last flush to form the ornamental inflated seed capsules
What usually goes wrong
- self-seeds prolifically
- poor results in shade
- rot on heavy wet soil
- resents transplanting
- short flowering season if sown late
Related guides
Timings cross-checked against RHS guidance for love-in-a-mist.