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should my wildflowers be up by now? N. MS

16 years ago

I prepared a wildflower area last fall, full sun in a large circular shape. I received free wildflower seeds from the county. The seeds were bur marigold, rose mallow, ?lyreleaf sage, black eyed susan, coneflower, coreopsis. I sowed each type seed in sections and did not mix them all together. It appears that only one type has come up, I think the marigold. Nothing is flowering yet. So I have large sections that just have a type of wispy grass growing there. What I want to know is should I mow that down or wait longer to see what comes up? I'm thinking if they were gonna germinate and come up, they would have done so by now, even if not flowering yet, of course.

Thanks for any advice, this was a first effort for me with wildflowers.

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Comments (5)

amelanchier
16 years ago
Typically, native wildflowers remain very tiny the first year of germination and don't flower until the 2nd or 3rd year. I would leave the spot alone, except to cut back (with a weed-whacker) weeds & grasses that grow over 6 inches tall. That won't hurt the little wildflower seedlings but will help them compete for light & nutrients.
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ladyslppr
16 years ago
I think you should see seedlings by now. Each section should have seedlings that are at least a little different from the other sections' seedlings, and those would be the wildflowers you planted. You are also likely to see lots of weed seedlings, and those should be of several types that are similar in all sections.

You can mow the grass and weeds that are appearing. Be a little cautious about trampling or rolling a mower over the seedlings, but cutting the taller plants won't hurt them at all, and should actually help by preventing the taller plants from setting too many seeds.
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joepyeweed
16 years ago
The planting that I seeded last fall, only has a few very tiny seedlings... its mostly weeds right now. I think I would give it more time.
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louisianagal
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for all the responses. I have BE Susan and coneflower and coreopsis and mallow in other parts of the garden, so I figure I could recognize those. There is one seedling that is very prolific and is about a foot tall now. I expect it to begin flowering soon. I typically don't grow from seed, but rather from transplants or cuttings, so I think I will cut some of this wispy grass, even though it's real pretty and meadow-y, but not use a mower. Any other ideas, feel free to contribute.
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lorna-organic
16 years ago
The soil has to reach a certain warm temperature for your seeds to germinate. Some types of seeds need warmer soil temps than others. Moisture is also a factor.
Lorna
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