Wildflower seeds question

Hi,

I posted this question on the California gardening forum & someone suggested that people in this forum might be able to help me:

I was lucky enough to be gifted with some native wildflower seeds by a generous DG'er, who lives in NC, and thought they were better suited to a CA garden. I'm excited about planting them as these are natives that I've admired & have on my "want" list. The mix contains:

Clarkia amoena, (Farewell-to-Spring)
Clarkia unguiculata, (Elegant Clarkia Mixed Double)
Eschscholzia californica, (California Poppy)
Eschscholzia californica maritima, (Golden West Poppy)
Gilia capitata, (Globe Gilia)
Lasthenia californica, (Goldfields)
Layia platyglossa, (Tidy Tips)
Lupinus succulentus, (Arroyo Lupine)
Phacelia campanularia, (Desert Blue Bells)
Phacelia tanacetifolia, (Tansy leaf Phacelia)

I'm looking for some guidance about planting them. I'm assuming they will fit into my newly planted xeriscape garden, which consists (mostly) of ornamental grasses, penstemon, agastache & salvia. Can I plant them this time of year or should I wait until next fall? And assuming we don't have rain, how often would I need to water them? Can I just mix them w/ sand or dirt & broadcast them into the garden or do I need to bury them? And can they be sown on top of the (gorilla hair type) mulch, or do I need to dig into the mulch? Any other words or wisdom would be most welcome...

Thanks!

Liz

I have pretty good luck with just throwing out wildflower seeds, rake across them a couple of times and then water. Pretty quick and easy.

Ditto. That is the same thing I do. Lightly prepare the soil [pull any visible weeds and rake] Broadcast seeds.... lightly rake again. Water. Water when soil is dry until you have seedlings... and i can tell you... I'm a neglecter. I toss the seeds and rarely water... my beds are so far from my house, that i dont have a hose that reaches, unless i connect 2 together [which then weighs about 100 pounds... so it does not happen often.]

Here is actually a bed i did last year....

Before http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=6278665
After http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=6278653 -- this is just about half of the area, but you get the gist.

cactuspath & tcs,

Thanks for the replies! I wonder if it's too late to spread the seeds now? Might be the impetus I need to get me out there & weed an area this weekend...

no -- you should be fine. I'd get to it when you can... but i dont think it's too late.

Neither do I , we have such a long season that I spread seeds now and later. ; )

We have a long growing season, but I sow wildflower seeds in the fall. You can also do winter sowing with them.

I can't really sow in the fall, with all the birds and squirrels, and down pours.... the seeds will mostly be gone by springtime.

I bet you could do it if you winter sowed. I did that for the first time this past winter and had great success!

OH.. .yes... i WS. this is my 3rd year.