What to expect when seeding Native Perennial Wildflower Mixes

So, you are thinking about incorporating wildflowers in your yard? That’s awesome as there are so many native plants available that are beautiful. A great many need very little assistance, if any, to prosper when they are planted in the right conditions - it is important to do some homework. You’ve considered your project and decided that seeds might be the way to go. You may have seen those bags of wildflower seeds at the grocery or hardware store. Perhaps you are imagining that you will be able to go out, crack the bag and sprinkle this seed out, then water it for a few days to get it going. You might expect that you will see blooms this year, that it will be that simple. If this was audible, you would now hear a record scratch. What I have just described to you is not a native wildflower seed mix - it is an annual flower mix that will go wild in your garden. Click Here for more on this. Most of the “native” wildflowers that grow here are perennial and they are very different from annual “wildflowers." Here are some Wildflower Seed Mix misconceptions that I would like to debunk as they relate to actual native wildflowers:

1)      I should expect a bag of seed. If you buy those wildflower mixes that come in a small sack you will discover that 99+ % of the bulk of that mix is not seed, it is filler such as vermiculite. These fillers serve two purposes; first to dilute the seed so that it is spread out more evenly and even help keep the moisture level around the seed higher which can aid with germination. The other reason is to disguise the actual volume of seed - please note I did not say quantity, but volume. Click Here to learn more about this.

2)      I should see flowers this year. It is possible that you may see some flowers in the first year from our native wildflower mixes; this is because there are some biennial and short lived perennials in some of our mixes that will start to flower sooner due to their shorter life span. Most perennials don’t flower in their first year and some like Wood Lilies take 5-7 years to produce their first flower. If you are unsure of what the difference is between perennials, biennials and annuals please Click Here for a short explanation.

3)      I should see germination in one wave like grass seed. Native wildflowers are very diverse and so too are their germination requirements and habits. Some are easy and germinate in a big flush while others need a winter (or two) to break their seed dormancy. Some just hedge their bets and from one seed-out germinate over several years. Some are slow and irregular, meaning they germinate a little here, a little there and some more a while later. Some germinate in cool temperatures while others need warm temperatures, some need warm temperatures after a cool spell. There is a lot of individual expression going on. This is why we don’t recommend seeding wildflowers and grasses together - Click Here to learn more about this.

4) Native plants are like weeds and will hardly need any help to germinate and grow. Sure, this is true for some native wildflowers but not the majority. When you see a field covered in wildflowers you must consider how much time it has had to become what it is. I speak with conviction when I say it only takes a little while to destroy what has taken many years to be and will never be again in your lifetime once it is destroyed. If you are building on land that has valuable plants growing on it - protect it. It is not easier or cheaper to repair it than it is to keep the construction area limited even if it makes it more difficult for the contractor. The contractor won’t be around in two years when your field is a sea of weeds.

5) Seeds are cheaper than plants. This is not the case when it comes to authentic native wildflower seed collected by hand from natural spaces and especially not when it is collected in the bush where bears live!! Some native wildflowers can be field crops like Blue Flax or even Brown Eyed Susans so they are machine harvested and that really drops the price. However, most of the seed we sell is not available unless people like us go into the bush to get it - but - it might get eaten, blow away or be hailed out and we don’t know that until we get there. We are actively collecting seed from June to October and collect over 100 species. Seed collected from natural spaces is not even in the same universe as machine harvested crops.

We do sell seed in small bulk quantities as individual species and in this format seed is less expensive. When you buy a mix, we’ve done that aforementioned homework for you to make it easier to pick the right plants for your space and have blooms thoughout the growing season. But as we collect from the bush we are never guaranteed access to seed. Each batch of mixes must be tweaked due to fluctuations in seed availability, and this creates trickle-down work for mix planning and adjusting content lists and seed pack envelopes. We also hand package each mix, adding each species to each envelope which is the only way to ensure each species on the package is in each mix. The long and short of it is that this takes a lot of work and planning on top of the seed collection.

Another reason seed may not be more economical is the overall success rate and time period involved. One established flowering wildflower in your space is a seed package in the making and every year it will release seed into the space. In large spaces we recommend creating islands of wildflowers that will be easier to care for and eventually spread into the large area. For more information about this concept Click Here. When you rely only on a seed mix you are at least two years away from flowers. Because native perennials wildflowers do not germinate in a single flush, establishment from a seed mix alone can take several years.

With all this new information you might be wondering what native perennial seed mixes have to offer and if it’s even worth trying to do this, but it is and here are some things to consider.

Native Perennial seed mixes:

• Take a while to establish but live longer and so have a much longer positive impact on the landscape.
• As a group bloom from early spring to fall providing interest and pollen for a much longer period.
• Are tolerant of our crazy unpredictable weather, and are not going to be killed off by a rogue snowstorm or a late/early season hard frost.
• Are used to the local precipitation patterns and don’t need fertilizing or extra watering once established in a location with the appropriate site conditions.
• Have important relationships with our local insects and wildlife that we may not fully understand because we haven’t been paying attention - like the Milkweed has with Monarch Butterflies.
• Deserve a place in our landscapes and protection from habitat destruction as we endlessly expand and consume natural spaces. By planting native wildflowers in developed areas like cities and industrial sites, we are creating corridors that help the native wildlife move through these areas and maybe even find a place to settle in.

If you are seeding a garden from scratch, I recommend you use our wildflower mixes in conjunction with other things due to the slow establishment process. We recommend combining the seed mixes with plugs, grasses or even annual mixes or plants for some instant gratification. Also consider seeding these mixes under and around existing plantings that include other perennials, shrubs and trees. It is important that the seed makes good contact with the soil and not be subjected to extreme competition from existing vegetation like an established lawn, pasture or field.

I hope you will find the payoff worth the effort and time invested in native plants however you choose to incorporate them into your space. We want you to be happy with the results and glad you decided on native plants which is why we think it's important for you to know the above information before deciding on the best method for your project. Please call us if you have any questions about establishing wildflowers and we will be happy to share what we know and help you get the process started.

Grow wild and support the environment that supports you!