Planting Wildflowers

Growing wildflowers is an excellent way to welcome wildlife such as pollinators to your garden. Planting wildflowers from seed is a simple and cost-effective method to use to get started. But what are wildflowers, exactly? And what’s the best way to plant the seeds? This guide will answer those questions as well as explain how to take care of wildflowers so they’ll thrive for many years to come. Wildflowers across the globe are plants that naturally grow in the wild without any human involvement. These plants are a mix of annuals, short-lived perennials, and long-lived perennials; some live for just a single season before setting seed and dying, while others live more than a year, but don’t necessarily produce seeds each growing season.

The best time to plant wildflower seeds is in spring prior to the heat of the summer. Although it can be tempting to plant later in the season while inspiration is blooming around you, know that seeds are less likely to eaten, dry out, or blow away in the spring when temperatures are cooler and moisture is typically more abundant. Planting your wildflowers in spring will also give the seedlings a full growing season to become established and endure the winter.

Believe it or not, there’s an art to planting wildflower seeds, which is typically done by broadcasting. Broadcasting seeds is where seeds are spread (usually by hand) across prepared ground and allowed to land where they may. Broadcasting helps to create a random distribution of seeds and distribution of species contained in the seed mix. Pick a sunny location, water the seeds and allow 5-7 weeks for germination.  Within the first few weeks, you should notice some sprouting from your seeds, especially annuals that grow quickly from seeds. In general, perennials and especially natives will be a bit slower to get started. While annuals will bloom the same year you plant the seeds, expect most perennial wildflowers to not begin blooming until the second or third year.

Keep your wildflowers well watered throughout the fist growing season. Plants native to a given region typically will not need nearly as much water–if any–after the first growing season, which cuts back on water usage significantly over the long run. You can find wildflower seed packets at our Etsy shop: http://www.printhousedesign.com to start your garden today!