What Wildflowers Can Be Planted in the Spring from Seeds?

What Wildflowers can be planted in the spring from seeds?



There are many wildflower seed mixes that are readily available that can be planted in the spring.  If a list of the seeds is available then it might be wise to investigate if these will germinate in the spring.  Many may not come up or will not germinate until fall.



Planting native wildflower seeds can be difficult because the seeds may need a special treatment in order to germinate.  This might mean they need to be chilled, need to be scarification or may need stratification.

This is why most wildflowers are planted in the fall, usually September or October, depending what zone they are being planted in.



Here are some threads that might help with understanding why:

https://permies.com/t/114202/Wildflower-stratification
https://permies.com/t/72616/deal-cold-stratification
https://permies.com/t/94362/good-overwintered-seeds-deciding
https://permies.com/t/98621/Winter-Sowing-growing
https://permies.com/t/57564/Pre-treating-seeds
https://permies.com/t/54716/Scarification-lazy-man-toenail-clippers
https://permies.com/t/31565/Cold-conditioning-seeds
https://permies.com/t/23084/Stratification

There are some native wildflowers that can be planted in the spring.  Which wildflowers have you had a good experience with planting in the spring from seeds?

These are the ones I have had success with planting from seed in the spring: blue sage, sunflowers, purple coneflowers, and blanket flowers.

Hi Anne! I missed this thread last year. I'm busy getting many wildflower seeds outdoors - the ones that need cold stratification. But a portion of the wildflower seeds I collected can be direct sown in the spring, and they will, because it saves me a little work Although I don't yet have experience growing these, here's a list of the wildflower seeds I will direct sow this year:
yarrow
hog peanut
purple prairie clover
purple coneflower
sneezeweed
wild bergamot
evening primrose
Virginia mountain mint
heath aster
smooth blue aster
culver's root
(plus about as many different native grasses)

I was surprised to find out these don't need the cold, at least according to the germination info provided by a reputable native plant nursery nearby. I used their website to look up all my seeds! All these plants are native to *approximately* my area . . . not necessarily my county, or state, or in some cases (I'm looking at you, coneflower) neighboring states. I gathered some seeds from wild populations and some from gardens or restoration sites.

Those blanket flowers you grew are gorgeous! I see them (not sure if same species, but quite similar) along my road. They don't naturally occur here but have been scattered with seed mixes and/or escaped from gardens - or from the flower farm with a lot of fields near me. I think I will collect their seeds this year, too, and see if I can grow some at home.

Ooooh, I love wildflowers.
I find that fall sown seeds often do the best but I have seeded lots of flowers in the spring too. But it should be early spring while it's still cold. But that's not because of the cold- it's because that way they are in the ground when the spring rains start in my climate and they stay evenly moist for germination. If I plant them later, I find I can't keep the ground wet enough for germination. It's the same reason I struggle to grow carrots. 🤷

Poppies are so easy. Yarrow. Borage. Flax. Bachelor's Button. Cosmos. Black-eyed Susan. Sunflowers.

I would note that coneflower/echinacea will grow the first year but not bloom until the second year. I was disappointed when I first planted them a few years ago from seed for the first time until I did more research and realized I just had to be patient. Other perennial wildflowers will grow from seed in the spring but might not bloom that first year. Lupine from seed in the spring doesn't bloom until the next year too.

It is time to start thinking about planting some seeds so that the pollinators can have some flowers.

This is the year for verbena.  Verbena has planted itself everywhere.

Also, the wild storkbill has unusually large flowers this spring.

A lot of bluebonnets though these are seeded in October.