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fieldofflowers

Volunteer plants from annuals not hardy to zone

fieldofflowers
9 years ago

I posted in the impatiens forum about my shock of finding in July some sprouting impatiens from a garden display I had last year.

These are impatiens walleriana hardy to zone 10, but this is zone 4, and 2014 was one of the worst winters. I thought it bordered close to a solid 3b type zone most of the winter to possibly 3a some weeks.

Yet those seeds survived. Somehow under the wood mulch and backed by a concrete building.

Other annuals I've seen reseed:

Petunias - in sidewalk cracks and garden spots. (various years, including this 2014 winter)
Lobellia - deep blue in my grandma's backyard. 2013?
Violas and pansies 2012?

Various squash seeds - in a neighbor's backyard, including a spaghetti squash.

Anyone else have an experience like this? How hardy are some of these annuals by seed?

This post was edited by fieldofflowers on Tue, Aug 26, 14 at 2:35

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