what's ha and hha? that's a new one for me. LOL ~Medo

I'm guessing "hardy annuals" and half-hardy annuals".

As far as reseeding, I think it depends on the plant. What specifically are we talking about?

Bonnie

that's a good idea, proud - but only trouble with that may be that you can find reseeds many feet away - wind can throw seeds all over - I found reseeds of a plant 20 feet away last year.

i don't find many zinnias reseed in my garden and I do have tons of zinnias. I bet there are lists on the internet of popular "reseeding annuals" whether they are hardy or half hardy wouldn't really have anything to do with whether they reseed or not.

Hope that helps

Carrie

Thanks guys! This is all new to me. I'll search for reseeding annuals.

Hi,

I'm also in zone 5 and here are some of my reseeders.

Hardy annuals: larkspur, love-in-a mist, cleome, annual
poppies, verbena bonarensis (I help the poppies by
harvesting seed heads and planting them where I want
them in the late fall)

Biennials: These come up far from their original locations
Lunaria (money plant), forget-me-nots, silver sage,

Perennials: These increase by seeding as well as by growth
and root expansion. Columbines, pulmonaria Mrs. Moon,
malva, rudbeckia Goldsturm (black-eyed susan), digitalis
lutea (perennial yellow fox-glove), baptisia (takes
several years to get to blooming size),purple coneflower

Chris

For me this year, I remember bachelor button, poppy, and cherry tomato reseeds. I found one lavender reseed and had lot of hollyhocks, but they're perennial/biennial. There were probably others, but that's all that comes to mind. I would guess marigolds reseed quite well, because for a while I had marigolds popping up, left over from the previous home owners.

Well, after researching I guess I should mark them all. Although I don't think I'll have very good results with reseeders because of the mulch. I guess over time the mulch will decay away and I'll have better luck with reseeders.

My best reseeders are larkspur, zinnias, vinca, portulaca, parsley, blanket flower, foxglove and my beloved violas. This year I did have salvia splendens reseed for me - that was a pleasant surprise......

Lynne

The difference between a hardy annual and a half-hardy annual is the that a hardy annual (plant/seedling) will take a light frost without a problem. Half-hardy annuals are frost tender. Any of them can re-seed, but if a half-hardy annual come up early and gets hit by late frost in spring it dies. The self-sown half-hardy ones will usually wait until the right time. Wintersown ones can pop up earlier because the soil warms up faster as does the air within the mini-greenhouse atmosphere...especially if you're like me and have the containers in full sun from the get-go. I push the envelope every year by starting too early and just about every year I lose some! Patience isn't my strong suit obviously LOL!
I usually start wintersowing hardy annuals as early as December or in some cases just let them do their own thing for me if I'm already growing them :)

As for annuals re-seeding....you wouldn't believe how far away from the Aster laevis plants in the garden that babies have popped up! I've been steadily pulling out babies this season up to 30' away!!
Just to mention, as for mulching, I lay out extra dried grass clippings, straw and leaves after a few good freezes (November sometime) but still get a large number of re-seeding because in early spring just as perennials start awakening (or earlier) I rake it all away to expose the soil to sun and heat.
November in process of getting in the mulch
{{gwi:421671}}
An older picture of Spring '07 but this is how it looks in April after it's been pulled away and set to the side for relaying later with fresh stuff on hand
{{gwi:421672}}

Yes, it's a good idea to mark things, it's remarkable how you can forget what/where/when stuff is in the garden the next Spring! Although after a few years of certain plants reseeding, I've learned to recognize most of the seedlings.

Here is a list of the plants that have reseeded in the gardens for me - could be forgetting some. Usually, the annuals reseed in much greater numbers than the perennials, although the exception is the Agastache I received in a swap last year. It makes a million seedlings!

Annuals -

Cosmos
Cleome
Snapdragons
Verbena bonariensis
Sweet Alyssum
California Poppies

Perennials -

Agastache
Penstemon
Asclepias incarnata
Helianthus
Rudbeckia
Phlox paniculata
Yarrow
Echinacea
Scabiosa ochroleuca
Salvia nemorosa - 1

Herbs -

Parsley
Lemon Balm
Cilantro
Chives
Catnip

And I'm looking forward to even more next year from the new WS plants!