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Your Self-Seeding Garden

The seed heads of plants are like salt shakers full of tiny seeds. When the capsules split open, scatter the seeds anywhere you would like them to grow or just let them drop where they are. Next spring, keep a sharp eye out for the seedlings when weeding. Some may be slow to emerge. If there are more than you want you don’t have to keep them all. Thin them out to allow enough space for the plants to fully develop. Relocate the extras or pot them up to share with friends.

Don’t be surprised if nothing germinates in the fall. Some seeds just don’t like hot soil and others, such as poppies, need a cold period before they will sprout. This is called “vernalization.” Wait until spring to look for your seedlings.

If you live in a warm region, some of your scattered seeds—the ones that don’t mind the heat and don’t need a cold period—may sprout and grow during a mild winter. They will flower early and set more seeds, giving you several generations a year.

Open-pollinated and heirloom flowers will look like the parent plant, while hybrids usually don’t stay true to their parents’ form. Keep an eye out for “sports”—chance seedlings that display attractive traits not found in the parent plant. These genetic mutations can lead to some interesting new forms of old favorites!

This maroon Belamcanda was a pleasant surprise. All the others were orange! We will definitely save the seeds from this sport.

Self seeders will give your garden a natural, cottage garden look but some of them can become nuisances, crowding out more desirable plants. Be prepared to thin them out or move them to other spots around your yard.

Self-Sowing Annual Flowers

Here are some annuals that are willing self-sowers:

Colorful calendula are eager to self-sow. Bees and butterflies love them!

1. calendula
2. nigella (love-in-a-mist)
3. love-lies-bleeding
4. poppies
5. cleome
6. alyssum
7. verbena
8. bachelor buttons
9. portulaca
10. coreopsis

Self-Sowing Biennials

Biennials rely on self-sowing to keep the population going. They form a leafy plant in year 1 and will blossom in year 2:

1. foxglove
2. lunaria
3. forget-me-nots
4. hollyhocks

These foxglove seeds are ripe and ready to fall.

Self-Sowing Perennial Flowers

Many perennials will self-seed if not deadheaded:

1. columbine
2. primrose
3. pansies
4. lupine
5. coreopsis
6. echinacea
7. mallows
8. New England asters

Columbine seeds are ready to be shaken out wherever you want them to grow.

Save a little money on plants next spring by welcoming some volunteers to your garden.

Also, learn how to save seeds from flowers and vegetables for replanting!