Purple Coneflower Seeds

Our son gave us some seeds (dried flower heads) of his coneflowers. Should I give them the "refrigerator" treatment before planting them, or just sow them now in the bed I am trying to start?

Jean, my cone flowers come up from seed, wild, naturally up here. So I'd plant them now, even tho you're a zone warmer than me in Hot Springs.
Vickie

Thanks Cando. I do love these and have tried to get some started in the past, and do have a couple that come back each year, but would like to have a small space in the garden devoted to them. Just where is Ozone in AR? Love to be back in the south and see all of the great plants I grew up with.

Jean, I'm north of Clarksville up 21N. Well come on back. LOL

Have you never had new plants come up near your established coneflowers? Mine are coming up in different beds. But than they grow wild here.
Vickie

Vickie: Have a couple that came up this year outside my bed, but instead of trying to move them, I just left them. It's hard enough to get them to come up in the bed in this rocky soil, so if they managed to come up on their own, I just left them! We have some of the wild ones here, too. When we travel up Rt. 7 toward Rt 40, I see yellow ones growing wild along the road. Would love to have some of those, too.

Do you mulch your flowerbeds? After a couple of years, mine has built up a nice top layer that flowers readily self-seed in. I get enough volunteers every year that I have all I need and plenty to share with relatives and friends. If you have a patch of those yellow ones somewhere along a road where they aren't in a yard, just stop and clip off several seed heads and plant those too. They are so easy to grow. BTW, just thought about it, you could also buy a bag of top soil and put in around your coneflowers so the seeds will have something to grow in besides your rocky soil. I lived in Little Rock many years ago so I know all about that rocky "soil," LOL!

Nature Lover: Yes, I am mulching beds now -- for several years after my brother passed away, barely had time to do any gardening, traveling back and forth to FL, however, things have settled down somewhat now and I have more time to spend on the yard. I think about having DH stop along the road sometimes to get seed, but flowers and spaces to pull off usually aren't in the same place! Do have loads of seeds now from DS and have sewn some of them right in the bed and planted some in seed starter cells. Will have to take those to FL this winter, but hope to have some plants next spring. The top soil is a good idea, too. We had over 12" of rain this summer at one time, compliments of Ike and some of the soil washed from the lawn, but none from the flower beds. Have them "terraced" with rocks, so they were okay.

We got some rain from Ike too. Wish we'd get more now as we haven't had much to speak of for the last eight weeks. Got 0.4 the other day but it wasn't even enough to settle the dust! Hope you have good luck with those coneflowers. Are the ones along the road actually yellow coneflowers or blackeyed Susans? If they are BE Susans, I have lots of those and could send you some seed. I think I still have some seed heads left in a couple of places. I love them and the reseed so easily.

NatureLover: Thanks for the offer of the blackeyed Susans. I do have some of them and I allow them to reseed themelves. I do believe the yellow ones I see along the road are yellow coneflowers but it is really hard to identify them when speeding past them at 50+ MPH! There is only one short place along the road where I have spotted these, but do see lots of blackeyed Susans and other relatives. DH will stop along the road if there is plenty of room to pull out, but like I say, the only place I have seen these is on a curvy, narrow road.

Hmmm. Y'all might have to do like DH and I do. Let DH drive and when you reach the flowers, you jump out with a pair of scissors, whack a few seed heads off real quick and jump back in the car, LOL. It works! Sometimes I see wildflowers I just have to have.