Flower Seeds
Photo courtesy teresatrimm/Flickr
Here’s a quickie reminder of the differences between flower seeds, which are categorized as annuals, biennials, or perennials, depending on how they complete their life cycle.
An annual completes its entire life cycle in one growing season. Plant a marigold in the spring, it blooms in the summer and dies in the fall.
A biennial spends its first growing season becoming established and storing energy. It blooms during the second growing season. Hollyhock is a biennial.
Perennials continue to grow year after without being replanted. The usually go dormant over winter, and grow back from their roots each spring. Daylily is a perennial.
Some plants are actually annuals but people think they are perennial because they self-seed. The plants drop seeds as they die, and new plants grow from these seeds in spring. Cosmos is an example of a self-seeding annual.
What are your favorite flowers?
January 16, 2013 - 9:12 AM
In my experience, the tinier the seed, the more challenging to grow. Most perennials grow very slowly and can be discouraging for beginners. My favorites for reliability and speed of germination are dwarf dahlias, zinnias, cosmos, marigolds, calendulas and even geraniums. If starting seeds with young children, nasturtiums are sure fire (seeds and all parts of the plant are edible). I usually start my own Victoria blue salvia and ageratums and can count on them to bloom nonstop until a very hard frost. Nicotianas and cleomes are also favorites. Coneflowers are fairly easy to start if they get several weeks in the refrigerator after planting (or other forms of cold treating). The most useful source I’ve found for starting seeds is Eileen Powell’s “From Seed to Bloom”. Some seeds need to be nicked, some soaked over night and this book is very clear about requirements specific to many different varieties.
Whoa!! Where did the scary cat icon come from?!?!?!
I grew some Forget Me Nots and marigolds together from seed last year and they looked beautiful together. Very easy to grow.