pixistyx
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Midwest Wildflowers- Planting in spring vs fall?

Firstly, hi everyone! I'm new here. I just got in to gardening with midwestern/prairie wildflowers. Well, I have a couple of the common ones- purple coneflower and the like. However, I'm trying to expand my reach. As such, I picked up a number of seed packets. Many of these will probably be fine as they say to plant once the threat of frost is over.

However, a couple of them are seeds that I really should have ordered and planted in the fall so they could go through the freeze thaw cycle. There might be a few nights of frost yet in the year, but not many. Is there any way I can plant and grow these seeds in the spring? Say...start them indoors and stick them in the freezer? :roll: The varieties in question are queen of the prairie and cardinal flower.

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rainbowgardener
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Seeds that need cold stratification can be started indoors. What you need to do is plant the seed in moist potting soil, then wrap the whole pot in plastic wrap to keep the moisture in and put it in the frig. Leave it there for six weeks and then bring it out, take the plastic wrap off, put it in a warm spot under lights. Once it is well started with at least a few pair of true leaves, it can be gradually hardened off and transplanted into the garden. It's a lot harder than just planting the seed in the ground in the fall, but it can be done.

PaulF
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Are you going to have a wildflower in-ground garden or will they be in containers? We have planted lots of wildflowers directly into the soil and they germinated very well the first year. Most of the flowers re-seed themselves in the fall and then go through the freeze/thaw cycle and come back the next spring. Purple coneflowers in particular. We have used the big bags of mixed seeds and sometimes some of the smaller varieties get pushed out by the larger varieties, so I would recommend getting the types you want to get started.

Susan W
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Pix, glad to see you growing with the native plants! Where are you, what kind of area do you have, any other tidbits to share?
I can share some suggestions just from my own trial and error, lots of both. I mess with seed starting (small scale) 12 months/year, especially with perennials and native plants.

pixistyx
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Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2014 8:26 pm

Thanks, guys! I might try the fridge trick with some seeds to see how well it works and save the rest for next fall. I am what could charitably be called a novice gardener, so I don't have much confidence in my own skills- but you only learn by trying and experimenting!

I'm actually not sure whether to plant them in containers or the back garden. I'm leaning towards containers, though, especially for something like queen of the prairie. I'm in the midwest so (with some exceptions) I'm doing prairie-based flowers. Here's the list of seeds I'm trying:

Clearly state they need a period of cold:
Cardinal Flower
Queen of the Prairie
Bottle Gentian

Others I've started indoors that say it's okay to plant after frost:
Hyssop
Great Blue Lobelia
Showy Pink Trefoil
Indian Paintbrush
Plains Coreopsis
Penstemon
California Poppy
Prairie Aster

I've actually stuck the poppy seeds outside since the package said they do like some frost. I'll probably try them with the fridge method as well since that might not be enough?

Susan W
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Location: Memphis, TN

To attain the Prairie Garden, I suggest to plant in-ground, not containers. Most perennials of this type usually planted about 24" apart. The little starts look lost, but the space soon fills in! You should look at mix of color and flower type (type meaning daisy shape, spike, etc). Some, not all are a year out to bloom.

My system for seed starting is different from most here. I am trying to get a few starts of several varieties going in limited space, and that going 12 months. I use the seed start pellets in the small 10/12 in a tray. These are peat or coir. As a side note, was going with coir, now perhaps veering back to peat. Germination is not as high for these plants as your usual flowers/veggies, and sometimes nada. I have several seeds per pellet, and hope one makes! If cold not needed, just put in a warmish place, I put the plastic lid on ajar so it does breath. When you see a sprout, remove lid, get tray in best light. For cold, put tray with lid in veggie drawer of frig. 4 - 8 weeks, depending. Then take out and hope for the best! Once seedlings up with true leaves go to 4" pots.

If you can get some of the 'fall plant' ones up and decent sized and in the ground by Sept they should sail through the winter, pop up next spring.

Hope this helps.



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