Growing Craspedia: A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · July 25, 2026
Craspedia, often called drumstick flower or billy buttons, produces perfectly round, golf-ball-sized yellow flower heads on tall stems, a favorite for both fresh and dried arrangements because the blooms hold their shape and color so well.
Starting it early
Start seed indoors 6-8 weeks before your last frost date, covering lightly, and transplant out after frost danger has passed. It’s slow to reach flower, around 110-120 days from seeding, so an early, unhurried indoor start matters. It’s a tender perennial hardy in zones 8-11; outside that range, grow it as a warm-season annual or bring it indoors over winter.
Getting germination right
Slow, uneven germination is the most common frustration. Give seed the full 14-18 days at a steady 70-75°F before assuming it’s failed, and avoid letting the seed trays dry out during that stretch.
Why it’s worth the wait
Craspedia is worth the patient start if you cut flowers for arrangements. Its everlasting quality means blooms dry naturally on the stem, giving you both fresh bouquets in season and dried material that lasts well beyond it.
Source: Sun Ball Craspedia, Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Companion planting guide for Craspedia (Drumstick Flower) · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 2-11. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Mature height: 2-3 ft
Method: Start indoors: Start indoors from seed, then transplant outside. It needs a head start most zones can't give it by direct-sowing alone.
When to plant craspedia (drumstick flower), by zone
Every zone craspedia (drumstick flower) grows in. Pick your zone in the header and it will be highlighted here. Each zone links to its full page.
| Zone | Start indoors | Sow or plant out | Bloom |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2a & 2b | Apr 1–Apr 8 | May 27–Jun 3 | Sep 19–Sep 26 |
| 3a & 3b | Apr 11–Apr 18 | Jun 6–Jun 13 | Sep 29–Oct 6 |
| 4a & 4b | Mar 27–Apr 3 | May 22–May 29 | Sep 14–Sep 21 |
| 5a & 5b | Mar 22–Mar 29 | May 17–May 24 | Sep 9–Sep 16 |
| 6a & 6b | Mar 7–Mar 14 | May 2–May 9 | Aug 25–Sep 1 |
| 7a & 7b | Feb 20–Feb 27 | Apr 17–Apr 24 | Aug 10–Aug 17 |
| 8a & 8b | Feb 4–Feb 11 | Apr 1–Apr 8 | Jul 25–Aug 1 |
| 9a & 9b | Dec 28–Jan 4 | Feb 22–Mar 1 | Jun 17–Jun 24 |
| 10a & 10b | Dec 12–Dec 19 | Feb 6–Feb 13 | Jun 1–Jun 8 |
| 11a & 11b | Nov 13–Nov 20 | Jan 8–Jan 15 | May 3–May 10 |
Bloom dates are about 115 days after the sow or plant-out date, not after starting seeds indoors.
Zone 2 sows before zone 3 here, which looks wrong and is not. USDA zones rank winter cold, not season length, and zone 2 is mostly interior Alaska, where hard winters come with warm summers. More on what a zone measures.
See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →
How many Craspedia (Drumstick Flower) plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: 1 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 2-3 ft.
Varieties worth considering
- Sun Ball craspedia (Craspedia globosa): Johnny's Selected Seeds bred it specifically for cutting: long, stiff stems that stay straight for harvest, and heat tolerance that keeps the plant producing through a hot summer instead of stalling. It's the variety most cut-flower growers mean when they say craspedia. (source)
- 'Golf Beauty Improved': Breeder Danziger lists this one at a shorter 14 to 18 inches with easy rooting even in northern climates, and it's propagated from cuttings rather than seed. Worth seeking out as a nursery start if a compact plant matters more than growing it yourself from Sun Ball seed. (source)
- Straight-species Craspedia globosa: Select Seeds sells the plain species: grass-green foliage under the same fuzzy yellow globes, without a named cultivar's specific breeding for cut-flower stem length. A reasonable, cheaper option if you're growing it for a mixed border rather than a dedicated cutting bed. (source)
Why each variety is listed comes from the source shown next to it. We haven't grown these ourselves yet, so treat this as a research-backed starting point, not a personal endorsement. The buy links are separate from those sources: they go to seed suppliers that sell that exact variety, and we may earn a commission on some of them.
Where to buy craspedia seeds
None of the seed suppliers we list carries craspedia seeds right now. A local garden center or a specialty seed house is the place to look.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Some links on this page also go to other retailers we may earn a commission from as an affiliate, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products with a clear consensus of positive, independent reviews, or ones we bought and use ourselves. Each item on our gear page says which.
See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing craspedia (drumstick flower)" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
%3A%20A%20round%2C%20golden-yellow%20'drumstick'%20flower%20that%20holds%20its%20color%20and%20shape%20long%20after%20cutting.)
Pin this for later
Growing Craspedia (Drumstick Flower): A round, golden-yellow 'drumstick' flower that holds its color and shape long after cutting.
Save to Pinterest