Early summer is the ideal time to start perennials from seed, and it is an excellent way to increase your store of hardy plants.
For the most part, many perennials are easy to raise and require no more care than most annuals.
Then, too, in mixed packets of seeds, one often finds new colors and variations, some of which may be worth propagating to replace standard varieties. It is this element of surprise that makes the raising of herbaceous plants from seed so intriguing.
Easiest Perennial To Grow
Among the easiest perennials to grow from seed are the following:
- Hardy alyssum
- The hardy garden pinks like the cheddar and the Scotch forms
- Brunnera macrophylla
- Coreopsis
- Mayfield Giant
- Delphinium, including the Chinese form
- Gaillardia
- Pyrethrum
- Primroses
- Violas
- Columbines
- Lupines
- Platycodons
Perennials Sown In Open Ground
Perennials may be sown in the open ground in a cold frame or flats or bulb pans. For the most part, large seeds can be planted in the open ground, but with fine seeds, it is wise to take the extra precautions required and plant them in flats or plots during the warm days of Fall.
Tiny seedlings may be subject to damping off, especially in humid weather. A seed disinfectant shaken in the package with the seed before planting will help to prevent damping off.
Often gardeners are disappointed in raising perennials from seed because they neglect to maintain proper moisture before and after the time of germination.
Keep your seed bed covered with moist burlap until the seeds germinate. Then young plants will need additional attention after they have been transplanted—mulch to conserve moisture.
Aid To Success In Growing Perennials
A further aid to success in growing perennials is easily accomplished by covering the young seedlings with evergreen boughs after the ground has frozen hard.
Some gardeners prefer to carry over all perennial seedlings the first winter in a cold frame.
Others provide for good drainage by raising the beds where the seedlings are grown a few inches above the level of the area.
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Platycodon, known familiarly as the balloon flower, is a sturdy, permanent perennial for the hardy border.
Primroses grow best in partial shade, and failure with them is usually due to Summer drought. But they are worth the care they require.
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