HI, i'm growing butterfly and hummingbird plants this year from seed. My question is, what type of plants will not flower from seed if planted this year?
The ones that won't flower from seed the 1st year i may just buy in a plant form, and start the ones from seed that will flower this year.
thanks
so far i'm looking at growing:
milkweeds
lupine
salvias
agastaches
firecracker plant
passiflora
asters
phlox
verbena
butterfly plants need advice please
Need to bump this up for someone more up on seeds to see.
Maureen, it depends on which species you have. Passiflora is not flowering the first year, nor does milkweed do, as far as I know. From the others there are species that flower in the first year. If you know the botanical (latin) names, I might be able to give you more information
Jonna
My milkweed bloomed the first year, but then again, I have a long year in Florida. I threw (literally) the seeds out around February, they came up in April, and I'm not sure when they flowered but it wasn't long after that. I've grown a lot of the other plants, but not from seed so I can't be too much help there.
Melanie
Thanks for the "bump" Sheila.
Jonna, I don't have the botanical names yet. I did find a nursery called Sweet nectary nursery that carries butterfly and hummingbird plants, pretty cheap, between 4.99 and 8.99. I just figured some I could save money on and grow from seed.
Melanie, tks for the info. Unfortunately our growing season here is much shorter than zone 9b, but I think i'll try some milkweed from seed and buy a couple plants, just in case.
thanks all
My butterfly weeds and salvia always bloom the first year. Butterfly Weeds will bloom twice a year at least here. After they bloom, I cut them down to about 4 inches. They always bloom again within a few weeks. From what I've heard, the Agastache should bloom the first year as well.
Good luck with your plants!
thanks echinaceamaniac.
i'm going to wintersow the salvias that I have. The butterfly weed i may start indoors, not sure.
thanks
I was just thinking, I have "Black and Blue" salvia that reseeds itself pretty regularly and it seems to flower pretty fast. So wintersowing is probably a good idea. Another butterfly plant I like to grow from seed is Blanket Flower (gaillardia); I like the "Goblin" variety. Also, dwarf Mexican sunflowers (tithonia) are easy to grow from seed. I prefer the "Goldfinger" variety, but you can find the "Torch" cultivar more easily. In my area they go from seed to flower in just over two months. Butterflies of all shapes and sizes love them for their nectar.
Melanie
thanks Melanie, i appreciate it. Now I have to start a post to find out what companies specialize in seeds for butterflies.
Hi maureen, I have my own little plan for what I am calling an easy from seed annual butterfly garden. If you would like to try it let me know I'd be happy to share it with you.
Looking at your list, I've had agastaches rupestris and cana flower the first year, however they were started indoors in february to early march and the blooms were not showy like they were their second year, plus the plants were only a quarter size of what they were in their second year. The one that is commonly called Anise Hyssop (agastache foeniculum) does flower well it's first year.
Some milkweed flower their first year, the orange kind is supposed to but I've never had it bloom except maybe 1 out of a dozen got very small sparse blooms. The good one to grow for first year flowers, would be Scarlet Milkweed, this one is another that needs to be started early.
I've never gotten a lupine to bloom it's first year either.
Salvias are species depending. I grew a black and blue from seeds I saved last year (started in late winter indoors) and it never got to bloom before winter.
There is an annual phlox called phlox drummondi so that would be a good one.
Verbena bonariensis can be grown as an annual.
There are annual asters called China asters (I don't think they attract butterflies though - I grew some last year and didn't see any at them) but the perennial ones I know of won't bloom the first year.
If by firecracker plant you mean monarda - it won't bloom it's first year.
I ordered a quart size passiflora and it has survived the winter here but hasn't bloomed yet. Those are slow to get to flowering.
Hope I helped, Meredith : )
Edited for spelling.
This message was edited Jan 28, 2009 6:45 PM