Did you know that you could plant your perennial flower seeds in the fall?
This process mimics the natural life cycle of a flower. Perennial flower seeds would naturally be dropped in the fall. If a seed finds soil, it plants and settles in for the winter. You can tap into this process in your own garden and give your perennials a head start. Overwintered seed will even start blooming a few weeks earlier than seed started in the spring.
Before you start, be sure your garden has gone dormant in order to prevent your seed does not sprout. Wait until you have had a killing frost, or in warmer climates, after the rainiest season ends. This will also help to ensure the weeds are dormant and give you a little extra time to plant.
If you plant outside, prepare your area as you would for other seeds. Select an area in with the appropriate light for your variety, clear your space of any weeds or other growth, turn the soil, spread seed evenly, and compress by walking on top of the seed.
Alternatively, you can plant in seed flats. Use weed free, clean soil. Tuck your flats up against the house to keep them a bit more protected. Let your planting area get covered with snow, leaves, and more, then wait.
In the spring, your seeds will sprout early. No need to water unless they are obviously dry. Keep weeds at bay as you see them appear. Depending on the variety, you can see blooms as early as 5 weeks after sprouting. Enjoy the extra time you now have to dedicate to other spring planting!
You can check out THIS POST for flower planting tips (just skip the cardboard cover).
tried in vain to pull up seeds for coleus seeds with no luck at all
The best scenes I’ve used in years made gardening fun again
I am a California transplant in the frigid, windy zone 4 that holds North Dakota. I miss my two harvest seasons and thinking that that 50 degrees was not sweater, but heavy coat season. This summer I was pretty successful. What I missed in time I made up with space where I was able to plant many more plants than back home. However, 3-4 months of the year are not going to cut it are they? I have two questions for you:
1. What are some frost resistant, late fall / early spring veggies I could grow in this fresh food desert?
2. What would be a good source of ND native flower seeds? Are there any conservationist organizations interested in promoting native seeds to attract pollinators early in the season?
…lat spring I saw nothing but mosquitoes till around July (not exaggerating).
Hi Jen, yes, Perennial Sea Kale can be overwintered like this. It will be a great way to avoid that extra work and to jump start your Sea Kale’s growth as well. Happy planting!
I just bought some “Sea Kale” from you guys. Can Perennial Sea Kale seeds be overwintered like this? I actually just stuck a few outside in the garden and in the ground. I was hoping it would create a little less work for me next Spring when it comes to starting the garden again.