It depends mostly on your budget and how much of an area you want to cover. Plugs will fill in quickly, but they will be the most expensive. Another advantage of plugs is they are easy to identify and weed around, and you get to decide placement of species.

I find growing my own plugs with the "Winter-Sowing" method gives me the biggest bang for my buck. I get the look I want, the ability to hand weed between plants and quicker growth than just sowing seed directly in the ground. WS involves planting seeds in properly prepared milk jugs, or like containers, to germinate and grow outside over the winter/early spring months. Winter snow and rain keep plants moist and stratifying. Growth of seedlings are accelerated come spring due to the greenhouse effect of using milk jugs. You can do a search of this method if you want to learn more.

Bare root is sometimes offered instead of plugs because it's easy to transport and/or it is sometimes the preferred method for survival success of some species. It's important to get the plants in the ground and watered ASAP. Sometimes planting can be delayed for a short period with proper storage in the refrigerator.

Sowing seeds in fall is the most economical, but as you said, it will take some time for the plants to mature. Placement will also be an issue, but if that's not a concern, it might be the way to go. Sight preparation is most important for success with this method.

Thanks for the great information. I planted a few small plugs this summer and was thinking of ordering more. Although I was surprised how small they are, they look healthy. Should those plants bloom next summer or would it take 2 years?

My suggestion is to do combine 3 methods and maximize your chances of getting healthy established plants.

Solidago, Liatris, Eupatorium, and all the Monardas are very easy and reliable from seed, and will usually bloom the 2nd year. I have winter-sowed at least 3 species of all of these with good results. I usually plant out in Spring or fall of the first year, keep em watered, and forget about them. The next year, you have more sizeable plants that can be moved around, and usually will bloom.

Asclepias tuberosa is a slower growing perennial, and will take several years to reach a mature size. However it will start blooming the 2nd year, and I had one seedling even bloom the first. Baptisia is both slow to reach mature size and to bloom and takes a minimum of 3 years. Perhaps these two would be excellent candidates for plugs so you can get blooms sooner.

Also, I would scatter extra seed of all species in the fall, and you will be sure to get some germination in the Spring. I have done this with Lupines, Dill, etc and plan to do this more because it involves the least work.

Of course you'll have to keep on top of weeding and watering so that your seeds and seedlings have a chance, and become familiar with your baby plants so you don't accidentally weed them out (which I do all the time with the scuffle hoe or I'm not paying attention).

Like terrene says it depends on the species, but most will bloom the second year. Sometimes plugs will bloom the first year; often times, later in the season than what is normal for that species. One year my Winter-sown Asclepias tuberosa bloomed the first year in August, although it was a teeny-tiny little bloom.

I've had very good luck starting all you mentioned, except the baptisia, from seed in south central Minnesota. In fact, I had too good of luck with the Monarda and Solidago so if I had it to do over again I would seed those species lighter. The length of time to flowering will have alot to do with the weather of course but also will depend on the competition the plants have from weeds and other desirable species. As has been said an asclepias tuberosa can and will bloom first year and it is more likely if the plant has adequate bare ground around it.

The blue lobelia can be pretty finicky about moisture and will only persist in a moist spot. You've got a good list of plants there and I'm certain you'll have good luck with your prairie planting!

Wow, excellent info everybody! I'm glad to have a head's up that baptista and lobelia can be more difficult to grow (it sounds like) and that monarda, solidago, also liatris & eupatorium can be easier.

terrene, you mention lupine in your post, which I think is a gorgeous plant, but I am shying away from it because I've heard it can be difficult to grow (likes sandy soil etc). Has that been your experience?

I know that weeding will be the trickiest thing if I grow some from seed. I definitely need to become familiar with what these native seedlings look like. It might be somewhat easier in that I am very familiar with what the weeds in my yard look like just from weeding the vegetable garden! wow, lots to think about here. I am definitely looking forward to fall planting. That's a great thing about natives!

Also, I would love to get a head start with Asclepias tuberosa through plugs, but another thread here mentioned they don't like being transplanted? So maybe that is the one plant I will just have to be patient with.

Asclepias tuberosa does not like being moved, and can be very sensitive to transplant if started from seed, but if you have a very knowledgeable and local source of plugs, they may be ok. (There can be problems with shipping them, and having them do well, especially this late.)

The exception re plugs here is the lateness of the season, and the age of the seedlngs in the plugs. If they are leftovers from early season planting for spring sale, don't go there. If they are more recently planted plugs for late summer sale, they might be worth it.

They want to develop and establish the taproot system early in their development. Younger seedlings can still do this. Older seedlings may already be *thwarted*, and may not thrive.

If you go with plugs, especially this late, you will need to baby them severely, I suspect. A lot of work. Seeds might be the better choice for planting late summer.

It's true that a mature specimen of Asclepias tuberosa does not like to be transplanted due to its very deep taproots. Absolutely no problem transplanting it when it's a plug. Give it plenty of sun and good drainage.

Don't know how big your intended area is, Lightening, but here's what I'd do: First, kill off all weeds, turf, etc. in area to be planted. Wait a week or two, and spray again, to catch all the stuff that germinates after the first treatment. Repeat once more, so that you have three rounds of killing off of weeds, turf, and other junk. Use a Roundup-style herbicide-one containing glyphosate as the active ingredient.

Any time after Oct. 15, sow your seed, using a no-till drill if possible. Any soil disturbance brings up new weed seeds, so the less disturbance, the better. Seed sown late should not germinate anymore this year, which is what you want. Far better for the seed to lay there all winter, stratifying and working it's way into tiny crevices in the soil.

We install thousands of acres of prairie plantings using the method I outlined above. It works!

+oM

Depends on budget, patience and talent. I've not done very well with seed but maybe you are more talented and diligent. Also depends on species as noted above. Some natives have amazed me by popping up from just scattering seed (Common milkweed was one. Purple prairie clover was another but it eventually got shaded and crowded out) but those are rare. Killing off the weeds as best you can is an important first step for all of these methods. One person I know ordered and installed thousands of plugs after preparing the area and the garden is great a few years later and has filled in completely. A careful job of mulching also helped his project. The plugs were much cheaper than bigger transplants but the size of the order still made it very expensive. A lot of natives are not very showy for a few years but then they produce nicely. A few bee balms I transplanted a few years ago have multiplied greatly and with little care so that's an easy one (too aggressive for some). I successfully transplanted several Joe Pye and Butterfly Weed plugs over 5 years ago and they're still going strong, especially the Joe Pye. Goldenrod tends to hold its own and spread as well.