This week: Easy Native Flower Seeds to Start this Winter
Hello!
Starting native perennials from seed is a cost-effective way to grow a native garden, but it requires skill and patience. Skill because some seeds need pre-treatment or special conditions to germinate, and patience because you may only see significant growth or flowering in the second season. If you’re in the mood to experiment, winter is a great time to start seeds outdoors, directly in the garden or pots (here’s how).
But what seeds are easy to grow for the first-time seed starter? Here’s my shortlist of seeds that work no matter how inexpert or neglectful the gardener.
Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea)
Winter sow: 60 days cold stratification
In the shady woods in full sun, this flower will bloom for a month or more in the spring. It’s the larval host plant for many butterflies and moths, and its spring blooms feed many beneficial insects. Golden Alexanders grow to 2 feet tall in shady conditions, but in rich soil with full sun, they can grow 3 feet tall.
Eastern Bee Balm (Monarda bradburiana)
Winter sow: 60 days cold stratification
This May-blooming bee balm is relatively low-growing at only 2 feet. Unlike most other Mondara, it does not usually get powdery mildew. Because of its early blooms, it’s an excellent choice to bridge the gap between early native flowering trees and summer flowering perennials.
Oxeye Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides)
Winter sow: 30 days cold stratification
Oxeye Sunflower starts blooming in June and hardly stops. Its flowers are long-stemmed and plentiful, making them great for flower arrangements. It is also the larval host for Silvery Checkerspot butterflies.
Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Winter or spring sow:0 to 30 days cold stratification
Black-Eyed Susan are long-blooming and still look fantastic in the waning summer months. Leave the seed heads up in the fall and winter for the birds. They are low-growing at 2-3 feet tall and make a great border plant. Their rhizome roots also work well to stabilize slopes.
Clustered Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)
Spring sow: no cold stratification
Mountain Mint adds silvery foliage to summer plantings and is a lovely contrast to deeper green shades. It’s a great pollinator plant that deer avoid and fits in well with any informal, naturalistic flower bed. It grows 3 to 4 feet tall, so it works well in the middle or at the back of a border.
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Spring sow: no cold stratification
Purple Coneflower is highly adaptable to conditions. It grows in the sun or partial shade and is a classic look for any garden. Typically, the seeds are straight species that grow 3 to 4 feet tall.
Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
Spring sow:no cold stratification
This clumping native grass adds color, texture, and movement to the garden and is also manageable in size. Blue-gray in the summer, its blades turn bronze and red for a dramatic display in the fall.
Not sure where to shop?
Rudbeckia hirta (sometimes called Gloriosa Daisy) and Echinacea purpurea are often available anywhere seeds are sold, but the rest can be found online. I like to shop at Wild Seed Project or Prairie Moon Nursery.
Elsewhere:
Imagine a place where only 800 white-tail deer are left, and they are only the size of a golden retriever. That place is the Florida Keys, and PBS Newshour has a report about how this sub-species is being protected.
Have a good week,
Julie