I would plant the hollyhock seeds in fall. I think they germinate better if they go through a frost, which is true of many types of seeds--natural process. I only step the hollyhock seeds into the ground. I don't actually put earth on top of them.

People say poppy seeds need light to germinate, so you would only want to step them lightly into soil (rather than bury them). Cosmos grows pretty easily from seed, as do snapdragons, marigolds, allysum and sunflowers.

Lorna

I consider any plant that is described as "self-seeds" a good candidate for fall planting. Just think of when it would normally dry and drop seeds and follow suit. They will lay there and come up and the proper time.

OK, call me ignorant but where do you ever see, other than in books, an item described as a "self-seeder"? Are my tall Shasta daisies self-seeders? I know my cone flowers and rudbeckias are but even so, do I let the seeds naturally fall in late Summer for Autumn hardening or should I save them and so them in the spring?

Thanks,
Mihai

I'm going to direct sow a number of plants from seed myself this fall. Last year I grew 2 different packs of cosmos and I seriously think every single seed sprouted! Very easy to grow and very tall! Like Lorana said, hollyhocks and many others are best planted in the fall (at least for areas with mild winters). I have tried to plant seeds at both fall and spring and find that they do much much better when planted in the fall. I would not heavily mulch either as it seems to smother out the seedlings. We don't get snow here so I do gently water them from time to time, and any that I sow in spring I keep moist.

This year I plan on direct sowing poppies, hollyhocks, zinnias,larkspur, corn flowers, snapdragons, cleome, violas and balsam.

Good luck and hope this helps!
Meghan

Thanks Meghan but this is Connecticut. Does anyone know if its safe to sow seed in the fall such as the ones Meghan mentioned or are our winters here too harsh?

Slowly learning,
Mihai

This is somewhat similar to wintersowing. Trudi compiled a list of plants for several zones. Check it out.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wintersown.org seed list by zone

Many seeds have a thick covering/coat on them. They are thus protected from harsh winter elements. In fact, winter elements are necessary to break down that coat so that the seeds can germinate in spring. In nature, flowers drop seeds in late summer/early fall, which overwinter and sprout in spring. I put all of the packaged seeds I buy in the freezer for a couple of weeks before I plant them to simulate natural process.

Lorna

My cleome has seeds now. Yesterday I took some and scattered them in an area of my new bed I would like them to grow next year. I have some seeds in packages of flowers that reseed in our area that I think I will throw down when the ground gets colder so they won't sprout until spring. I figure if they don't come up, I'll have other things that will. I've never tried this before, though, so I don't know if the seeds in packages have different hardiness than those that have never been in a package.

Sue

The seed coat depends upon the climate which is native for the plant, Sue. Plants which normally grow in milder climates usually don't have a thick, hard coat. You've probably heard of pricking packaged seeds with pins or otherwise scarifying them to break through a tough coat. One can put seeds into a small jar with some pebbles and shake the jar to cause the pebbles to break down the seed coat, a form of scarifying.

Have you ever planted seeds in spring which didn't sprout that year, but did sprout the following year? That would be because the seed coat needed lengthy exposure to the elements to break down and allow the seeds to germinate.

Lorna

Most catalogs will list whether or not the plant will self-seed. You can always Google online. Either look up self-seeding plants or the individual flower you are interested in. Google hasn't failed me yet!

Mihai - I would say that zinnias and balsam are questionable candidates. The rest should grow for you just fine. My Mum also used to get morning glories reseeding, but just this bit further north - no luck. Good luck. I missed this thread when it first came on.

Nancy.

I just realized you mentioned heirloom seeds. Here is a good company that specializes in just such seeds and plants ... and they are have a sale.

Here is a link that might be useful: heirloom seeds

Lorna, I can't remember if I've had plants come up the next year or not. It seems they've come up when I had given up, but don't remember if it was the next year. I will go ahead and plant some seeds this fall. What I wasn't sure about it whether some of the seeds, such as Tithonia will survive winter. I'm just going to try it and see what happens.

rrborn, I do have some tips. Annuals are easier to grow from seed than perennials. If you plant seeds of biennials, they will bloom the next year. I'd rather buy plants of perennials. When picking them out, I choose ones that haven't bloomed yet, or just beginning to bloom, rather than the ones that are in full bloom already.

Sue