Alyssum is an ANNUAL????????????????

I thought alyssum was a perennial because I see it coming up year after year! I love alyssum as a border plant. I just sowed some into my flower area. It said to cover the seeds with 1/8 inch of soil....I tried to do that, and then I used a bottle of water to mist the soil. I thought misting would be the easiest way to water the seeds. Do I have to sew alyssum each spring??? The seed packet says they are easy to grow. I hope so!!! The packet says they spread... will they want to take over my flower garden? They are in a part sunny area. They will get morning to early afternoon sun, then will be in shade.

They are an annual but they reseed themselves nicely every year. They don't spread much, won't take over anything. The plant just gets bigger around, nice compact short mounds.

That is exactly what I was hoping for!!!! Thank you threegardeners! I put in Purple ones and White ones! I cant wait to see them mature! I put them in an area that gets sun all morning until maybe 2 pm, and then it's shady. I am trying to keep the soil moist but not wet. I hope they do well! I also planted impatiens and bleeding hearts in this garden and I hope they do well. The bleeding hearts are in a slightly shadier area since they are under a tree, This is my first year growing flowers in New York City, and I hope they do well. The only mistake I may have made was putting in Gerbera Daisies. I only put in 3 of these...and if it does well I will know I can use them in the future!

sounds like a good combination. Don't forget, the Bleeding Hearts will die back after they've finished blooming. I lost a few before I learned that...kept digging them up and planting other things thinking they'd died. They'll be perennial for you there.

Last year I read that Alyssum is a good self-sower, so a couple weeks ago i bought a flat so I can plant them here and there in the front part of my border, hoping they will self-sow and I'll have them forever. I already have larkspur, nigella, and cleome coming up year and after year from self-sowing. I have learned to identify the little seedlings so I don't pull them out when weeding. And to a certain extent i like to control where they grow, so I move them around a bit while they are quite tiny. Also, some need a bit of thinning.

Handy tool for moving little seedlings: a big scoop. I actually use a pair of them. One in the right hand for lifting the little seedling. One in the left hand for digging similar size hole in the desired spot.

Nicotiana self seed wonderfully too and smell amazing in the evening.

I use a regular kitchen tablespoon to move seedlings...gardeners are a creative bunch, aren't we?

Self seeding plants are great, but self weeding plants are better. ;))

WOW...I didn't even think of thinning!!! Now I know!!! I will put aside some spoons in my gardening tool bag! As I said above. I am gardening in New York City. I live in an apartment building on the ground floor. The "powers that be"...never did a thing with this patch of ground, but plant a few bushes and 2 trees. It was over-run with weeds and garbage, and lot's of dead leaves. I asked if I could garden in it and was given permission.

It was such a sad piece of ground, and I thought color would make it more cheerful. Weeding has been an ongoing battle, but I am on top of it now, and since I planted the flowers, people are not throwing garbage on it. I have noticed that people are stopping and looking. That is why I wanted to flower garden. I think flowers are wonderful. They make me smile!

I hope the flowers do well! I think people may take more pride in their "grounds" if they are attractive!

We love pictures BTW...

If you're looking for easy-to-grow from seed flowers, don't overlook zinnias, marigolds and morning-glories. Have fun!

I will take pictures in the morning!!!! :) Mocatmom, I do not know if I can plant the Zinnias, Marigolds and Morning Glories. I only have morning sun and some early afternoon sun. Some areas have more shade than others. Do these flowers tolerate shade?

I am excited people aren't throwing garbage there anymore!!! That was awful. They would throw stuff out their windows. Even emptying their ashtrays out the window...and it would land on the dry leaves!!! I was concerned about a fire starting! I have more weeding and leaf removal to do... this area was a mess.

The plants are small, but I will try and capture what I have done!

I was thinking of planting Hosta up against the building. I do not know if they will do well in TOTAL shade - there is no direct sun there and it is just dirt and pebbles. I thought something growing there might be nice.

The morning glories would do just fine with morning and early afternoon sun. Grandpa Ott and Yalta Star are gorgeous and easily found in seed packets. If you have a fence to cover, they would be perfect.

PS: Moonflowers would be fun, too - morning glories open in the early a.m. and close up around noon...moonflowers open in the late afternoon and stay open all night. They are VERY large pure white flowers, and are lovely in the moonlight.

The old-fashioned white bleeding hearts (Dicentra spectabilis) have a shorter bloom season, and die back, leaving an empty space. I try to use them behind something else which hides the empty spot.

Dicentra eximia hybrids continue to flower quite a bit longer than the old-fashioned types. examples: Dicentra 'Luxuriant', 'Zestful', or 'Candy Hearts'.

My experience is that the old-fashioned white bleeding heart self-sows quite well.

Dicentra eximia has not self-sowed for me, but the clumps do get larger thru the years and can eventually be divided.

One year I had to move my oldest/biggest white bleeding heart, and I was amazed at the huge root system, like a mass of huge carrots. It was hard to transplant!

I have the bleeding heart that has fern like leaves. I do not know the latin name...the tags weren't there...mine are pink.
I have grown moon flowers many years ago when I lived in Montana. I had a flower garden and a vegetable garden, and amazingly...things grew! I had wonderful neighbors who shared not only their seedlings but also their vegetables! Those were special times. Maybe that was a reason I wanted to garden again.

Being back in Queens, everything is different... the soil, the growing season, the heat... I had full sun in Montana and here I get shade. I know I am having fun already!

This is part of my garden...the plants are small, sorry!

Here is more of the garden...

Still more....

It ends at this "Century Plant" which was there before I started.

The plants are small now, but they will grow and so will your garden - how wonderful.

Re. the original question, it depends entirely what species of alyssum you are talking about. There are many perennial species also, mostly with yellow flowers.

I have white and purple ones but I found out they re-seed themselves and so I do not have to re-seed next spring!

Very nice, CarolynH!! Once your little plants fill out they will be beautiful. Please share some pictures as they grow...

Kelly

A few morning glories would dress up that chain barrier...hint, hint.

We had a good rain last night...and I have BABY ALYSSUM POPPING UP!!!! It is amazing that rain works so much better than tap water in getting those seeds to germinate!!! I am sooooo excited!