Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
mangomoon_gw

When to plant annual seeds? Fall or Spring?

mangomoon
14 years ago

This has been bugging me for a long time. Should I be planting my annual cottage flower seeds after the danger of frost or should they be planted in the Fall? I ask because I most packet seeds will tell you after the last frost, but my neighbors who have cottage flowers already have blooms everywhere!

I live in a city that has a group that comes around and judges people's gardens. I am hoping to win this year, but they show up in June and my blooms should not be noticeable until late Summer, and my morning glory is not due to climb the trellis until late June.

Am I missing something? Is there something I am not doing right, therefore I am not keeping up with my Jones's for neighbors?

I have a neighbor that grows Bachelor Buttons year round and they never seem to die, when the seed packet says they show up in late Summer. I planted them last year and sure enough they showed up late Summer.

Comments (3)

  • PRO
    Nell Jean
    14 years ago

    Is your zone 24, Sunset zone? If so, does that mean you live in a year-round warm climate?

    I can only tell you how annuals are treated in my garden.
    Poppies, larkspur, silene, cornflowers, sweet peas and some other half-hardy annuals that bloom in early spring are planted in November.

    Summer annuals like zinnias, melampodium, Madagascar periwinkle and tithonia are planted any time after the last chance of frost has passed in the spring.

    Biennials are planted by yet another formula that assures that they will grow this year, survive the winter and bloom the next spring.

    Seed packet information is intended for some ideal garden in the upper midwest, or New England, or somewhere I don't know. You must plant where you're going to bloom, at a time determined by your climate.

    Nell

  • DYH
    14 years ago

    Could it be that your neighbors are starting their seeds indoors and transplanting into the garden rather than direct sowing? Poppies and larkspur don't take well to that, but I'm too new at seed sowing to know about many of the annuals.

    Sown direct here in the Fall in zone 7b in North Carolina:
    My poppies started blooming the first week of May.
    My larkspur are starting up now, with one early bloomer a few days ago.

    I direct sowed annuals that Nell mentions (she's been a big help to me with seed sowing advice) after frost here (mid-April) and I don't expect to see blooms until late June or early July on many of those. However, my garden peaks in July anyway.

    Cameron

  • token28001
    14 years ago

    I direct sowed poppies in early March and they've been blooming for a couple weeks. Shirley poppies. A few orientals sprouted and are putting up shoots, but I see no buds and no flowers yet. Larkspur was wintersown and is now blooming.

    Perennials are sown here in the fall for summer blooms. They spend the winter hanging on through snow and frosts and two months of really cold weather. I did this last year with Rudbeckia and have one plant that's been blooming for a month now. Lots of buds on the others. Like Cameron, my plants will be in full bloom within a month.

    Perhaps your neighbors purchase their seedlings rather than start from scratch. I know a lot of people here have beautiful blooming gardens right now. But I've seen them throw down several hundred dollars at the garden center for those blooms. For me, I enjoy watching things grow from seed to bloom. While I do buy some plants, most perennials and annuals are started from seed. With each passing year, I'll have to start fewer plants thanks to reseeders and divisions.

Sponsored
Grow Landscapes
Average rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars8 Reviews
Planning Your Outdoor Space in Loundon County?