Planting Instructions

Planting Seedlings

Most of the plants available here require 6 or more hours of full sun daily to be successful. Plant seedlings in a sunny area, being sure that roots are handled gently. Water new plants daily until they are well-established.

Planting Seeds

Many of the seeds of native wildflowers of New England require overwintering before they will sprout. These seeds are adapted for cold winters by entering dormancy and having a protective seed coat that delays the growth of delicate seedlings until winter has passed. Going through cold winter temperatures — a process called stratification — prepares the protective seed coat for springtime germination and signals to the seed that springtime has arrived.

Fall Seed Planting

Planting seeds directly outdoors in the fall allows seeds to go through the stratification process naturally, without extra effort from gardeners.

Remove any weeds or other plants that might compete with your seedlings.
Lightly loosen the soil with a rake.
Place seeds on the soil surface. Lightly press them into the soil with your hand or by stepping on them gently. It is not recommended that you bury them beneath the soil.
Look for sprouts in the spring! Keep the soil moist with daily watering until seedlings are established.

Spring Seed Planting

The stratification process necessary for seed germination can be replicated artificially so that seeds planted in the spring will sprout in the same season.

Arrange seeds in a single layer on moist paper towel. Place the seeds and paper towel in a sealed container.
Set the container of seeds in the refrigerator for 4 weeks. Check the seeds weekly for germination. If any have sprouted, remove all seeds immediately for planting. Otherwise, allow seeds to complete 4 weeks in the cold temperature.
Prepare soil by removing and weeds or other plants that might compete with your seedlings.
Lightly loosen the soil with a rake.
Place seeds on the soil surface. If seeds have begun germination, do not press them into the soil. Otherwise, lightly press them into the soil with your hand or by stepping on them gently.
Keep the soil moist with daily watering until seedlings are established.

Exceptions

Some wildflower seeds do not require overwintering and will sprout easily with springtime planting. In my experience, these include:

Blanket flower (Gaillardia)
Tickseed (Coreopsis)
Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum)
Cosmos (Cosmos)