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Direct sowing Liatris

10 years ago

Last year about this time, I sowed my Liatris seed here and there so it would come up all through the daylilies.

I sowed the whole seed stalk in all cases and it made it very easy to tell where I planted them when they came up in the spring. They are all coming up in little rows the length of the seed stalk so it is easy to see that they aren't weeds. (Liatris seedlings look like grass.)

My seedlings didn't bloom this year but will next I think. I definitely recommend this method of planting Liatris seeds.

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Comments (9)

prairiemoon2 z6b MA
10 years ago
That's interesting RyseRyse, I tried just dropping the seed stalks at the end of the season last year, but I haven't seen any seedlings. I should try doing that more deliberately this year. My Liatris hasn't seed yet, it just finished blooming.
river_crossroads z8b Central Louisiana
10 years ago
Great idea, RyseRyse. How deep did you plant them? Did you barely cover the dried flowers/seeds with soil or what? Sounds like the daylilies may have protected them from the wind and the birds, right? No snow cover here. Thanks!
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Susan, Oh, okay, I don't know what I was thinking that you had started them indoors. I'm hoping that I'll get a head start on them this way. I didn't plant quite all of them yet because I wasn't sure if I was starting them too early. Now that our last frost date is about two months from now (April 15), I suppose that I could start the rest inside. My problem is that I ran out of containers and will have to go get some more. I have all of my individual one and two-gallon ones used with my swamp milkweed started outside, and the smaller individual ones have butterfly weed and tropical milkweed in them. Then I also have 3 flats (72 in a flat) with swamp milkweed in two of them started outside and butterfly weed in the other one. Then I also have butterfly weed and tropical milkweed started in cups. I probably am up to close to 300 milkweed plants here, assuming that the seeds all germinate (I put two in each container), and I'm not even done yet. lol Of course, then there's the Chelone glabra, Zizia aurea, Zizia aptera, Heraculeum maximum, Foeniculum vulgare azoricum, and Angelica atropurpurea seeds from you that I have winter sown. I started some snapdragons inside, Blazing Star Liatris, also Agastache foeniculum and Blue Fescue (I suppose I could have winter sown those last two). I'll direct sow my lupines, zinnias, cosmos, and dill. There, I think I remembered everybody. :) I want to try to locate a small spicebush around here. I wonder if there'd be any harm in digging one out and relocating it here at the edge of our yard next to the woods? A sassafras tree would be nice too. Of course, I'm thinking about other plants for next year...I'd even plant a paw paw tree if I knew that I could get ZST up here, but my Butterflies Through Binoculars book shows their range ending around the southern border of PA. There are so many different kinds of butterflies that I'd like to attract here, but I don't think I want to dig up our whole backyard. :) It's snowing a lot here right now. Schools let out at noon today and have already cancelled for tomorrow. I suppose the weather will soon clear up out your way. Come on spring! Cathy
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I did something very similar in 2003. Just around thanksgiving with our first snow, I broadcasted out the prairie seeds over a 60x15 prepared area. No mulch, no amendment and the blanket of snow was my protection from birds. Also by this time the mice/voles ect. are housed up for the winter. My seed (flowers/grasses) were individually ordered from reputable native seed suppliers...no walmart mixes just for the simple fact you usually can't find any that do not contain a few non-native noxious/invasive species...like Dames Rocket, Bachelor's Button and Baby's Breath for example; two of which are on our local monitor list and one which made it too the noxious weed list.
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Park Seed is a company I would recommend. Full afternoon sun is different than full morning sun, so if it is shade in the am and full sun in the PM in hot dry conditions, might as well be full sun. Are you just thinking planters or garden too? Coreopsis is an easy to grow from seed plant but it is perennial and like all perennials, starts out a bit slow but really takes off later on. Can't beat petunias for full sun, they are easy to grow from seed. So actually are old fashioned geraniums. Another perennial that would be perfect for you would be gaillardia, which goes by the common name "Prairie Blanket." Good both in the ground and containers. Marigolds easy from seed. Those are all kind of common in the big box stores except for the gaillardia and corepsis. The thing that I do with the common big box annuals when I'm growing from seed, is get a color or variation that is not commonly found. Another plant is alyssum. I've grown peach and yellowish ones, but I actually prefer the purple ones for their scent. Carnation and lavender, also easy to grow from seed. Perennials but look good the first year. Anything in the mint family, which includes bee balm, monarda, salvias and oregano, etc. Many types of verbenas, both dwarf and tall. Also same with snapdragons. Most have a dry spell midsummer, but some more everblooming than others. Then there are the many wonderful members of the sunflower family . . . morning glories easy to grow from seed . . . echinacea but watch out if you have deer and bunnies, they love it. Little begonias, angel wings and impatiens all easy or relatively easy to grow for shade. Lobelia is a fave of mine for shade, but in needs serious shade, any variety. Ajuga as a flowering groundcover for shade . . . ice plant. Honestly if you peruse some of the good seed catalogs you will be astounded. Yarrow, pansies if you keep them cut back bloom all summer . . . it would be easier for me to tell you what doesn't work--milkweed. It's fine to sow in the garden, but very hard to start ahead of time. Sorry I can't recommend other seed companies, but I buy from ones mostly in my zone, which is moist and northern. Harris, Stokes, Johnny's. Better to support smaller regional seed companies, IMHO. When we bought for plant sales and landscaping at the greenhouse, we bought in bulk, which is why I am not as familiar with good small seed companies. I always found something fun at Park, and they are great for customer service and philanthropy. Home base is S. Carolina? maybe north but I think south. But they have growers all over the country.
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GreatPlains1
10 years ago
What kind did you plant? I have three different types and they all self sow easily from seed. The reason I am asking is different types of liatris have different preferences of soil type and moisture so its good to check. I found through trial and error that some kinds preferring dry soil will crawl along the ground like an octopus if too wet or if the soil is too rich. That can be very disappointing when you are wanting those "exclamation marks".

Others need more moist conditions. Then, I had a friend who grew some in rich soil and they were giants that were a bit much in scale so she was disappointed in them. I have had to relocate some of mine to find a good spot.

Corms are pretty easy to come by. Walmart has had them in bundles each spring in the past and so has Home Depot here. We also see them growing thickly along the roadside here each fall. I love Liatris, its one of my favorites.
river_crossroads z8b Central Louisiana
10 years ago
Thanks, Great Plains. I've got 2 kinds that are reportedly native to my area, L. aspera and L. squarrosa, bought at almostedenplants.com Open House and Plant Sale last fall, nice plants in apx 3.5 inch pots.

Planted them in Sept. '12 and they have started blooming recently, about 1 yr later. Previously had failed with seeds bought from everwilde. I have read that liatris can be hard to grow from seeds so I appreciate any help I can get!

This post was edited by river_crossroads on Mon, Sep 9, 13 at 9:53
GreatPlains1
10 years ago
r. crossings.

What was your opinion on almostedenplants? Size and quality of plants? Do you rate them good? I want to order a pink Rockrose (Pavonia lasiopatala) next spring. I notice you are in Louisiana and wonder do you grow this or see it around there? It is "just" hardy here so I decided to wait until early spring and let it have as much time as possible to establish roots.

I did some second thought type of thinking about the liatris seed and the self sowing. Actually, when I consider the # of seeds each stalk produces, the # of volunteers is rather low, but I do get them. Thats a good thing really because it definitely won't be a bully in the garden. I accidentally pulled a few thinking it was grass but now I know them instantly on sight. Mine are just starting to bloom. I've got some "crawlers" out there that need moving but others are standing tall. I think my favorite are the wild ones we dug up in Kansas, Liatris punctata. The roadsides were a solid mass of purple with these last fall when I was up there.

This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Mon, Sep 9, 13 at 13:48
river_crossroads z8b Central Louisiana
10 years ago
Hi Great Plains, I have had good experience buying **in person** at Almost Eden. They sell exclusively by mailorder except for 2 weekends per yr when they let the public in. Some very knowledgeable regulars in the gw butterfly garden forum mailorder from them and I see positive comments in the threads. I see your post in that forum, too!

To read the comments, in the Butterfly Garden Forum itself you can choose Ã¢ÂÂSearchÃ¢ÂÂ to the right of Ã¢ÂÂFAQÃ¢ÂÂ and search for Ã¢ÂÂAlmost EdenÃ¢ÂÂ without the quotes, then search each thread that is returned for the same thing. You could always post or e-mail posters if you need more info.

You obviously know your way, Great Plains, but for anyone else who is interested - and the FAQ is fantastic:
GW Butterfly Garden Forum

Sorry, I am not familiar with rockrose. Pretty liatris! I am going to use RyseRyseÃ¢ÂÂs method and will report back next yr if I have any luck. Bye and thanks again!
GreatPlains1
10 years ago
River crossings....Thank you for the report on Almost Eden. They look like a good place and I nearly ordered from them, had the thing all filled out and then decided to wait until spring because of the hardiness deal.

Thats not my liatris up there. Thats how they are supposed to look and I got that off Google images from Kansas. Here is mine below. I think maybe the abnormal amount of rain we got in spring and early summer might be what is making so many of the ones I have lay down like this. I call it "snaking". One thing is for sure, its not rich soil.

This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Tue, Sep 10, 13 at 3:14
GreatPlains1
10 years ago
These two are more upright and shorter. They are planted higher up so they didn't get so much water runoff and the soil dried out more between rains.
GreatPlains1
10 years ago
Check out the one crawling toward the gravel behind the big cactus to the center left...... Its the purple thing on the ground. Its supposed to be VERTICAL not horizontal.

This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Tue, Sep 10, 13 at 0:09

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