Growing Xeranthemum (Immortelle): A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · August 10, 2026
Xeranthemum, also called immortelle or paper flower, is a papery-petaled daisy relative that holds its color remarkably well once dried, which is the entire reason it’s grown.
A flexible start
Transplanting is recommended, sowing into cell trays 5 to 8 weeks before planting out and pressing the seed in or covering it lightly, since light aids germination. Direct-seeding after frost danger passes also works, sown 2 to 6 inches apart and kept moist until it comes up, then thinned to 6 to 12 inches. Germination takes 7 to 14 days at 65-75°F.
Harvest fully open, not half open
Unlike ammobium and a lot of other everlastings, xeranthemum is harvested once flowers are fully open and their color is still bright, not while they’re still half closed. The papery texture doesn’t change much after cutting the way a softer petal would, so there’s less benefit to picking early.
Xeranthemum has no well-established companion pairings, and nothing it needs to be kept away from. At 4 plants per square foot, it fits well into a dedicated dried-flower row in the Garden Designer, alongside ammobium and other everlastings.
Source: Xeranthemum: Key Growing Information, Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Companion planting guide for Xeranthemum (Immortelle) · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 2-11. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Mature height: 1.5-2 ft
Method: Either: Start indoors for an earlier harvest, or direct-sow outside for less fuss. Either works.
When to plant xeranthemum (immortelle), by zone
Every zone xeranthemum (immortelle) 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 8–Apr 15 | May 20–May 27 | Aug 13–Aug 20 |
| 3a & 3b | Apr 18–Apr 25 | May 30–Jun 6 | Aug 23–Aug 30 |
| 4a & 4b | Apr 3–Apr 10 | May 15–May 22 | Aug 8–Aug 15 |
| 5a & 5b | Mar 29–Apr 5 | May 10–May 17 | Aug 3–Aug 10 |
| 6a & 6b | Mar 14–Mar 21 | Apr 25–May 2 | Jul 19–Jul 26 |
| 7a & 7b | Feb 27–Mar 6 | Apr 10–Apr 17 | Jul 4–Jul 11 |
| 8a & 8b | Feb 11–Feb 18 | Mar 25–Apr 1 | Jun 18–Jun 25 |
| 9a & 9b | Jan 4–Jan 11 | Feb 15–Feb 22 | May 11–May 18 |
| 10a & 10b | Dec 19–Dec 26 | Jan 30–Feb 6 | Apr 25–May 2 |
| 11a & 11b | Nov 20–Nov 27 | Jan 1–Jan 8 | Mar 27–Apr 3 |
Bloom dates are about 85 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 Xeranthemum (Immortelle) plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: 4 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 1.5-2 ft.
Varieties worth considering
- Straight-species xeranthemum (Xeranthemum annuum): Johnny's Selected Seeds sells this species in a double-flowered mix; the growing requirements are the same regardless of the flower form, so the species itself covers what matters for care. (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 xeranthemum seeds
None of the seed suppliers we list carries xeranthemum seeds right now. A local garden center or a specialty seed house is the place to look.
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See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing xeranthemum (immortelle)" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
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Growing Xeranthemum (Immortelle): A papery-petaled daisy relative that holds its color remarkably well once dried, harvested fully open rather than half open like most everlastings.
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