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Growing Plants from Seed

“I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright.  Henry David Thoreau

Tiny Seed
 
 

Hardy/Half-Hardy Annuals

How does a seed grow into a plant

Testing Seed Viability

To test seed viability, place 10 seeds in a moist paper towel. Roll up or fold the paper towel and place in a plastic bag. Place the bag in a warm area. Every few days, open the bag to ensure that the towel is still moist. If the towel has become dry, remoisten it. Check the seed packet to determine how long it should take for the seeds to germinate. After that time has elapsed, wait another week and the count the number of seeds that have germinated. Multiply this number by 10 and divided by 100. This gives you an approximate percentage of the seeds that will germinate when planted.

Some seeds need light to germinate.  Press them into the soil but do not cover.  They include: Ageratum, Astilbe, Balloon flower, Cleome, Coleus, Coreopsis, Dill,  Impatiens, Mexican Sunflower,  Petunias, Savory,  Shasta daisy, Snapdragon,  Strawflower,  Stock, Sweet Alyssum, Yarrow.

Hardy/Half Hardy Annuals
Hardy annuals can be direct-sown in the garden as early in the spring as the soil can be worked.  For an earlier start, sow them indoors in flats 8 to 10 weeks before the last spring frost date, and transplant them to the garden about a month later, after hardening them off. 

Some hardy annuals can also be direct-seeded in the fall, and these plants will flower much earlier than plants seeded in the spring.  When fall seeding, plant the seeds a bit deeper than you would in the spring, and spread some mulch over the seedbed after the ground has frozen. 

Examples of hardy annuals include bachelor’s buttons, calendula, spider flower (Cleome ), pinks (Dianthus spp.), larkspur, linaria, Shirley poppies (Papaver rhoeas), nigella (love-in-a-mist), scabiosa (pincushion flower), snapdragons, lavatera, annual baby’s breath (Gypsophila elegans), heliotrope, stocks, and sweet peas.

Half-hardy annuals can be direct-sown outdoors after the threat of hard frost (temperatures below 25°F) is past. Indoors, start seeds in flats 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost date, and harden off the plants before transplanting them to the garden. Once they have hardened off, half-hardy annuals can withstand a light frost. 

Examples include statice, nicotiana, painted-tongue (Salpiglossis sinuata), China aster (Callistephus chinensis), and various types of salvias and chrysanthemums.

Tender annuals can be sown directly in the garden only after all danger of frost is past. For an earlier start, sow seed indoors 4 to 6 weeks before the last spring frost date for your area. Examples include marigolds, morning glories, zinnias, sunflowers and tithonia (Mexican sunflower), cosmos, amaranth, ageratum, celosia, and gomphrena (globe amaranth). 

Some annuals are so good at fulfilling their mission in life — flowering and setting seeds — that they will self-sow readily under the right conditions and produce brand new plants the following year. Common annuals that can self-sow vigorously include ageratum, petunia, foxglove, annual larkspur, forget-me-not, calendula, and wild or striped mallow (Malva sylvestris).

 
"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant."  Robert Louis Stevenson
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