When Do I Plant Perennial Seed



When do I plant perennial seed?

When to plant perennial seeds is determined by how you're going to sow them.

Two Systems For Outdoors



If sowing outdoors, then there are two systems that work well.

  • The first is to scatter the seeds over the garden in late fall. Allow Mother Nature to do her thing and the seedlings will pop up the following spring.

  • This works really well with things like poppies or hollyhocks where you have a gazillion seeds and only require a few plants. (and you know what the seedlings look like so you don't grow weeds instead) You weed out the excess.

  • If you have fewer seeds or you want to manage those seeds, then cut the bottom off a gallon (six inch) sized flower pot and plunge it (bury it) in the ground so only the top rim is showing.


  • Fill the inside of the pot with sterilized soil (or slowly pour an entire kettle of boiling water over the soil) so that no weed seeds are present. Sow the perennial seed in the fall and allow Mother Nature to do her thing. In the spring, you'll see (hopefully) little seedlings developing and you can transplant them to garden locations when they get to the four leaf stage.

    Growing Indoors


    If you want to grow them indoors, then the timing is normally to start the process in January so you'll have finished plants to go to the garden by the end of May.

    See the article at on starting perennial seed for suggestions on seed starting methods.



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