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Which winter sown perennials W O N' T bloom the first year

16 years ago

For all us newbies, can we get some listings of the perennials we can expect to NOT bloom the first year? This could help us with where and how to place WS seedlings into our gardens. Much thanks to all the WS veterans out there for any advice.

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Comments (17)

greylady_gardener
16 years ago
Well I think you can pretty well figure that MOST (all in my case :)) perennials won't flower the first year no matter how they are planted. I did plant a couple that said they would flower the first year and they didn't(hollyhock Queeny purple for one)
Others may have different experiences to let you know about. That is just mine. :)
gg
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token28001
16 years ago
For me, hollyhocks, shasta daisy, rudbeckia (perennial version), echinacea, and dianthus.

I got a jump this year and fall sowed a bunch of these just to see if I could get something blooming this year.
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terrene
16 years ago
I observed that some perennials will bloom a little the first year if you get them planted out early enough. In one case, I planted the same Aster in 2 shifts, and the earlier batch bloomed abundantly, while the other batch got nibbled on (probably rabbits) and had a hard time recovering foliage let alone blooms. I do expect them all to bloom this year though.

Of the perennials I WS'd, Baptisia, perennial Helianthus (sunflower), Cup plant, some Asclepias (milkweed), Jacob's ladder, and all the perennial vines require at least a season or 2 to bloom. For a vine like Campsis radicans (trumpet vine) it can take 5 or more years to bloom!

The long-lived, slow-growing perennials with extensive root systems will usually be slow to bloom.
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rbrady
16 years ago
For me the following did not bloom the first year-Penstemon, Ligularia, Heuchera, Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Asters, Aquilegia, Baptisia, Yucca, any Lilies, Iris, and Hollyhocks.

Rhonda
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busylizzy
16 years ago
For me:
Blue Flax
Rudbeckia
Hollyhocks
Dianthus
Shasta Daisy (crazy daisy)
Daylilies

First year bloomers for me:
Delphinium
Russell Lupines exactly at 180days from planting out
I planted those as 2 tiny true leaves hidden and they got huge! Bloomed in the fall
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morz8 - Washington Coast
16 years ago
jill, most perennials aren't going to give you significant blooms their first year from seed, some might tease you a little with a bloom or two. But how many months from seed to bloom shouldn't dictate their placement in your beds, you should only be considering sun/shade, mature height/width so they aren't lost or overtaking the space you've put them in, availability to water if not drought tolerant...ya gotta think long term with perennials.
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v1rt
16 years ago
Great thread!

So I guess, to keep our drooling down for us newbies, we should sow very colorful and really good performing annuals like cosmo, cleome, calendula, lavatera etc...
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token28001
16 years ago
That's right. I'll be going heavy on the annuals later this spring. It'll keep the garden from looking so bare. Fortunately, I started some perennials last year and divided a few more this fall. It won't be a full garden, but it will be a garden. And where I have room, I'll squeeze in some beans, tomatoes, or vines.
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dorisl
16 years ago
the only perennial that bloomed for me was hyssop.
what a bust! Ithought Id get a shasta daisy or two....

it was a REALLY DRY year , actually, the one cardinal flower I had bloomed after the flood turned it bed into a bog.

that was it tho.
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v1rt
16 years ago
What is the percentage that seed we planted will bloom on 2010? LOL, we're now talking year 2010. 2009 just arrived. :D hehehe

Looks like I may have to buy at least 30-40 rhizomes of cannas! At least, canna's foliage are really nice!

How are you going to address your green garden?
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highalttransplant
16 years ago
Hmmmm ... I guess it may depend on location, since some of the ones people have listed as NOT blooming the first year have bloomed in their first year for me - Dianthus, Asclepias, and Rudbeckia.

I did have to wait for the following:
Aquilegia
Belamcanda chinensis (Blackberry Lily)
Echinacea
Geum
Shasta Daisy
Gaillardia
Kniphofia
Penstemon

Hey, after looking at snow for two months or more, I'm happy to look at some green, blooms are just icing on the cake!

Bonnie
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echinaceamaniac
16 years ago
Echinacea purpurea will usually bloom the first year; however, all the others won't like Echinacea pallida or Echinacea paradoxa, tennessensis, and so on.
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dorisl
16 years ago
I did get a dianthus also, now that I thinky about it...

memory is a terrible thing to waste.....
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token28001
16 years ago
I agree Doris. I went outside earlier when the temperature was around 45. I remember now that one echinacea did bloom that was sown in the spring. It had a bloom opening up around the first of Nov. We got our first frost a couple weeks later. It had pollen on it at the time. *sigh*

But no rudbeckias bloomed. And now, I don't know which is which.
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terrene
16 years ago
Not sure about the true perennial Rudbeckias, like R. maxima, R. triloba, etc. but the Rudbeckia hirta cultivars like 'Irish Eyes', 'Indian Summer', 'Cappucino', etc. bloomed quite abundantly for me in the 1st year.
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token28001
16 years ago
I only planted what Morse called "Black Eyed Susans". The ones I bought, yeah, they bloomed. LOL
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terrene
16 years ago
Black Eyed Susan is the common name for Rudbeckia hirta - which is either an annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial depending on who's written the plant description! I went nuts winter-sowing these and planted them out in groupings in several different garden beds. Some did better than others. I'm curious to see who comes back next year.
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