Which California wildflower sprouted from my seed packet collection?
I had an open plot in the garden where I removed the previous owner's sandbox and woody bushes, but I couldn't decide what to do with it. I turned up three years-old packets of Stover wildflower mixtures and scattered the seeds to see what might come up. As expected, not much! It's mostly the local weeds.
But I did get two of a lovely plant that looks grass-like, about 8 inches tall so far, with clusters of buds. My image search for each of the listed seeds didn't turn up an obvious match, because most photos are of the full blooms, not the sprout. Can anyone spot which of my wildflower seeds has come up? Many thanks!
**Hummingbird & Butterfly Mixture
Alyssum
Arroyo lupine
Bachelor button
Black-eyed Susan
Coreopsis
Indian blanket
Mission Red monkeyflower
Painted Daisy
Purple coneflower
Scarlet bugler
Wallflower
White yarrow
**Southwest desert wildflower mix
African daisy, Dimorphotheca sinuata
Annual coreopsis, Coreopsis tinctoria
Baby blue eyes, Nemophilia menziesii
Bachelor button, Centaurea cyanus
Blue flax, Linum lewisii
California poppy, Eschscholzia californica
Desert bluebells, Phacelia campanularia
Farewell-to-Spring, Clarkia amoena
Goldfields, Lasthenia glabrata
Pygmy-leaved Lupine, Lupinus bicolor
Red flax, Linum grandiflorum
Shirley Poppy, Papaver rhoeas
Tidy tips, Layia platyglossa
**California native wildflower mixture
White yarrow, Achillea millefolium
Farewell to Spring, Clarkia amoena
Chinese hoses, Collinsia heterophylla
California poppy, Eschscholzia californica
Globe gilia, Gilia capitata
Bird's-eye, Gilia tricolor
Tidy tips, Layia platyglossa
Golden Lupine, Lupinus densiflorus
Arroyo lupine, Lupinus suculentas
Five-spot, Nemophila maculata
Baby blue eyes, Nemophila menziesii
California bluebells, Phacelia campanularia
Blue eyed grass, Sisyrinchium bellum
Comments (10)
oscarmatic
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoRelated Discussions
Wildflower from seeds...
Comments (8)If I was doing it I'd want to till or at least scrape the soil and plant them directly into mineral soil. If you have done a lasagna bed, I'd remove the organic material or till it into the soil before planting. I would sow them onto bare soil in the spring, storing them in the fridge or an unheated garage or shed all winter. If you think there will be a lot of weed seeds in the soil, you could start them in pots and transplant. My main hesitation with this approach is that you have a lot of plants to start so it will be a lot of work. If you are placing transplants, I still try to till the soil as well as possible, then mulch between the plants with an organic mulch like lawn grass clippings or leaves to keep most of the weed seeds from sprouting. The big advantage of using transplants is you will know that seedlings that appear are weeds, not your wildflowers....See MoreCreating my own wildflower seed mix
Comments (4)Creating your own mix is a lot of fun. I usually collect most of my seed, but still end up purchasing a few odds and ends that I can't grow or collect enough of. There is a wild variety of Lupine! I encourage you to buy and plant many. They do require a well-drained soil that is typically sandy in nature, but as long as it is well-drained you should be just fine. They spread prolifically by ejecting their seeds from the pods. In the future you will be able to collect the dark pods before they pop if you want to choose where you'd like them to go. Mixes do contain a lot of filler plants, so designing your own may be best. Make sure to include some type of grass though. Without grasses your project will turn into a weedy mess in years to come and you will just want to start over. I'd recommend little bluestem since it is pretty tidy and isn't too aggressive. Plus it's short so you'll be able to see your flowers. As for flower recommendations, you can purchase purple coneflower, black-eyed susan, and annual phlox for very little money. Yellow coneflower is also very inexpensive and simple to grow and maintain. I would highly recommend planting some Butterfly Milkweed seed though. "Butterflyweed" is a must in a wildflower garden and I'm sure that if you do a simple Google image search you'll agree. I recently planted another new prairie myself and you may find some inspiration in my project. Here is a link that might be useful: Improved Ecosystems...See MoreRed Yucca Seed Sprouted Inside Packet
Comments (4)Now that you mention that albert, I remember during the summer I was shelling some black eyed peas. I simply rinsed them and left them in the strainer overnight to drain. You know the next morning several had actually germinated like that, lol. I was dumb founded, but it didn't stop me from cooking them, fresh black eyed peas are gooood....See MoreWildflower help needed in California
Comments (2)Whenever we talk about plants and gardening we need to know where you are situated geographically. Without knowing your climate and temperatures we can't say whether your seedlings are doing well or not. In my climate three weeks for germination would not be unusual. For the same reason, and also because we don't know what species you have, we can't say when they'll bloom. They look ok from what I can see but can I ask if you are watering with a fine rose or just a spout? The reason I ask is that it looks as if you might have washed the seeds around which would disturb them. eta, sorry, I didn't notice California in the heading. But even so that's a big place with different climates....See Moreoscarmatic
6 years agooscarmatic
6 years agoI took a few more in-focus photos against a white background to better see the details.
gyr_falcon
6 years ago
theparsley
6 years agowindberry zone5a BCCanada
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agooscarmatic thanked windberry zone5a BCCanada
windberry zone5a BCCanada