What are some nice perennials from seed?

I'd like to grow some perennials from seed this year. I think if I start them now, I might be able to get first year blooms.

What are some nice perennials that I can start from seed that will bloom the first year?

Darrell

Hi Darrell,

Most perennials don't bloom until their second year, even when started early. You can fill the space with annuals, though, until you get the perennials going.

Cheryl

Cheryl,

I ordered some Echinacea and had hoped they would bloom the first year. Maybe it's one of the exceptions?

I can't remember all of them, but one that comes to mind is Pansy. lol

There are a couple others but can't remember off hand what they were.

The Malva sylvestris 'Brave Heart' and Malva s. 'Zebrina' that I winter sowed last year both bloomed.

This is one of the 'Zebrina's

Joanne

Yes, the Malva sylvestris 'Zebrina' is a first year bloomer. So is Echinacea purpurea 'White Swan' if that is the one you ordered Darrell. Another first year bloomer is Yarrow 'The Pearl'. Other than those, most of the other first year bloomers I've had are either tender perennials or tropicals. If I do think of any others I'll add them to the list here.

--Ginny

I can't for the life of me recall the name of the last echinacea I grew from seed, but I know it was about 5 years ago, so there might be some newer ones that will bloom first year, I'm kind of behind on the improvements.

A biennial that bloomed for me in the first year was English Daisy. Very cute. Also was winter sown.

Oh yeah, I had yarrow bloom too in the first year; not Echinacea though. Joe Pye Weed grew to about 2 feet in first year and tried to bloom; bet it will look great in its second year.

What's that spectacularly purple variegated foliage in your photo?

Darrell
Hi my Echinacea Purpura ( I think that is the spelling) did not bloom on it's first year. I actually don't have recollection of anything blooming my first year.

2zeus , that purple stuff looks like barberry to me

Ann

Yes, Ann is right, it is Barberry 'Rose Glow'. It really is gorgeous.

Joanne

Beautiful, it combines my two favourite things in foliage - purple, and variegated.

If they bloom, they bloom sporadically in the first year. One of the perennial Dianthus that I wintersowed bloomed, but I don't recall which one it was.

Sandy

Hello Darrel,

Here are some from my experience:
Delphinium grandiflorum, aka "dwarf Chinese delphinium" will bloom its first year if started 8 weeks early indoors.
So will Callirhoe involucrate, started early, in peat pots, in a cold frame.
So will Centranthus ruber coccinea (Jupiters Beard), wintersowed.
Ditto for Heliopsis (volunteers)
Platycodon has bloomed first year for me, again with an early start indoors.

Good luck!

- Bev

I like that Barberry too.

I have English Daisy. It bloomed last year and looked ok in a small pot.

I'm growing some Dianthus. They look like carnations. I'll bet those won't bloom this year.

Yarrow....well, I don't know if I want to grow that or not. The pictures I've seen on web sites don't make it look very attractive to me. It puts me to mind of a weed. BUT, I've seen other pictures that are like in a planter and it has Yarrow mixed in with other plants and it looks great. I wish I knew more about Yarrow. Maybe the only way to really know about it, and to see if I like it, is to grow it.

Man! You guys sure know your stuff.

Thanks a million.

Darrell

Her's a picture from my garden of Yarrow 'Moonshine' and Yarrow 'Island Pinks' in bloom side by side. There are three of each plant, and the picture was taken on July 21st.

And here's a pic of my first year White Swan Echinacea - taken August 2nd.

Now, that Yarrow looks great together and I like it.

I like the Whte Echinacea too. It would look really good with some contrasting colour around it, wouldn't it.

I've added it to my "New" seed list.

Thanks Ginny.

Darrell

Yarrow with daylily "Panchen Lama"

Very, very nice 2zeus. The two work really well together.

Making notes here.

nice......:)

What a gorgeous combo!

I can't wait to see the daylily in a nice big clump, with the yarrow. It's an older-fashioned bloom, but one of my absolute favourites, soft and delicate and creamy.

I find that yarrow, (here, at least,) if kept deadheaded, will bloom right up until frost.

Ginny - gorgeous shot of your "meadow" of yarrow.

2zeus - wonderful pairing of yarrow and day lily - that yarrow color is a zinger! So many of them look washed out; not that one!

That yarrow is "Cerise Queen" from seed from Stokes, and I love the colour, it does fade a bit as the flowers age, but is still luscious.

I like Ginny's mix of colours, for some reason, that isn't something I'd have thought to do; I have a tendency to use a clump of yarrow to accent something else, haven't combined them, but it's beautiful that way.

And I never thought of using Yarrow to highlight daylilies - what a beautiful statement that makes. Not only are the colours complimentary but the flower and foliage types contrast wonderfully well too.

At Kilmalu farms, downisland, I saw things like: Verbena bonariensis, Erynigum planum (Sea Holly), and other big bold plants used in her display gardens, and it looked wonderful; the contrasts were exceedingly pleasing to the eye.

The plant I have the most fun growing from seed is the Angel roses I originally got from Vesseys - now I harvest hips and grow my own. They start blooming when the seedlings are about 3-4" tall! The roses bloom non-stop until late fall. They also produce a profusion of bright red hips in late summer and fall that last through most of the winter. The roses are tough and hardy - I give them no protection at all and only get a bit of tip die-back. I've never seen any blackspot or other pest or disease problems with them. In spring I just whack them back a bit and away they go! Fabulous plants that should be more widely grown.

Note the buds on the seedlings here:
http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL524/1483676/2842589/90609081.jpg

In summer with white potentilla:
http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL524/1483676/2842589/156366673.jpg

In October:
http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL524/1483676/2842589/193469315.jpg

Delphiniums started now will bloom in August/Sept. this year and at their normal time next year. Since delphiniums tend to be a bit short-lived (and because you can never have too many delphiniums in the garden!), I always plant new seedlings each year. That gives me two periods of delphinium bloom and ensures I'm never short of delphiniums in the garden.

Woody,

I saw those for the first time this year and planted 500 seeds. They are very slow to germinate, but I'm waiting patiently.

I did some searching on them and liked what I read. I'm glad you posted that post.

I'll take some pictures as they progress.

Delphiniums are one of my favorites. I had some last year that were a colour I had never seen before. I quickly pulled it off the shelf. I wasn't about to sell the only one I had.

Hi woodyoak. I don't think I've seen you here before. Welcome to Dave's Garden and the Canadian forum.

Those roses are beautiful. The white potentilla beside them, is it a shrub or perennial plant? I have several in pink and red, but sure would be nice to find a white one.

Brenda

Slow to germinate?! I find they germinate easily- a couple of weeks at most. The seedling leaves tend to be a dark purplish color and are hard to see at first until they get a bit bigger. I just started some seeds on Friday so we'll see how long they take for me. I planted some seedlings in 2006 uner my Blanc Double de Coubert rose. I kept the hips I harvested from those ones this fall separate from the hips I harvested from the ones in my herb bed. I am hoping that I might get some seeds that are a cross between the BDC rose and the Angel roses. One hip did have a much larger seed than the rest so I've planted that one separately to see if it produces something noticeably different....

echoes - I don't think I've posted here before, although I have on other forums. I'm in southern Ontario (originally from NB long ago; ended up in Ontario, via Quebec for a few years in the late 1970s...) The white potentilla is a shrub - either Abbotswood White or McKay's White. I have both and I'm no longer sure which one is which! One blooms more profusely than the other. I think McKay's is considered the improved variety so it's probably that one. Abbotswood seems easier to find though. Neither of them bloom as prolifically as Pink Beauty which is my absolute favorite and the backbone of my 'pretty in pink' driveway border.

This is taken from Vesey's:

Germinate at 15°C (59°F) for 30-60 days.

In my book, that is a long time to germinate.

Most of them appear before that long for me but some of them do seem to take longer to appear. I'll have to pay more attention this year to how long they take... I wonder if there's a difference between how long it takes the seeds I harvest from my own roses to germinate vs the purchased seeds...? I leave the seeds in the drying hips until the day I plant them so perhaps the seed is a bit fresher. Most of my Angel roses are singles, with just a few doubles. Perhaps, like many plants, the best ones are the slowest to germinate. I throw out the soil long before 60 days are up, so perhaps I'm throwing out the doubles....:-)

You said you started 500 seeds!? Are you a commercial grower? Or do you have a VERY large garden? That's one heck of a lot of roses! I have found that the Angel roses also seed themselves - you end up with a rose patch, not single roses. The birds also spread the seeds - I have found roses appearing in the shady, woodland beds in the backyard... Be careful where you put the roses - for little guys, they have serious thorns and will snag passers-by if the roses are at the edge of paths. Gloves and long sleeves are a good idea if you are weeding, deadheading etc. near the Angel roses - or else you'll look like you've been having a fight with a cat!

will add Angel roses to my seed list of stuff to watch for...
tjhanks!

I have a 400 foot white fence that faces the road. (frontage)

I'm planting them in front of the fence. (facing the road)

I went to OCS or OSC, can't remember the name exactly. lol I ordered, Phlox, Echinacea, Achillea, aka Yarrow, Delphiniums, and Columbines.

I know some of them won't bloom this year, but next year, I'll be happy. :)

There are still more I'd like to get. (There's always more it seems like)

Darrell

Is the fence a solid fence or more open like a rail or picket fence? How tall is the fence? The Angel roses will give you a long bloom period plus the red hips for late season interest but they're quite short. Do you have taller shrubs along the fence to add variety in height? I like the effect of the Angel roses under the tall Blanc Double de Coubert rose. The BDC rose is very disease resistant and has wonderfully scented white flowers. (The flowers need to be cleaned off when they fade because the petals turn to brown mush, so you need easy access to the rose...) If I had a relatively open fence behind the big rose that was a suitable support, I'd plant a The President clematis on the fence and allow a few stems from the clematis to embrace the rose. Will you be adding anything other than perennials in the bed? Weeding could be an issue with all those Angel roses - the thorns really are sharp!

OSC is the right name = Ontario Seed Company

When I have it the way I want it, I'll post a picture.

Darrell I notice in one of your first post, you had mention Dianthus, and weren't sure they would bloom the first year. I wintersowed carnation last year, and had a few blooms the first year, late in the season though. Didn't get to enjoy them, frost got them. If I would have started them indoors, I would have had a longer blooming time. Could be another one to add to your list??? Down your way, your growing time is longer then ours .

I have them here and haven't planted them yet.

Maybe I'll plant them Saturday along with other things I want to plant.

Thanks burn!!!

I have about a quart of Shasta daisy seeds.... (can't bear to toss anything with that much potential, lol) that I'm sure I could spare a few hundred thousand of them....

The shasta's grow to about 3 feet tall, and clump up nicely. Good sized flower ) 2 -3" across. Excellent for cutting. Can't remember if they would bloom first year from seeding though....

let me know if you'd like some seeds.

I'd love some. Sure!!!! Wow. Thank you.