"Ted Shoemaker" wrote in message
...
I would like to plant some annuals that will reseed themselves. That
sounds okay; it's how flowers reproduce naturally. BUT I live in Zone
4, so some seeds will not survive the winter.

What about marigolds? lobelia? Will these seeds survive
temps below zero F?

I'm looking for something that will be a ground cover. There are plenty
of leggy or weedy-looking wildflowers; let's try for something full and
low.


I have had impatiens, coleus, alyssum, and torenia reseed. Cleome also is a
reliable self-sower but it is tall - not anything close to being a ground
cover. I have never had marigold or lobelia return in subsequent years.
The complication in this case is that you want a ground cover. I read that
as a dense, continuous carpet of vegetation. Even when things self-sow,
they don't generally do so in a consistent manner. You can get a clump here
and a few plants there. Sometimes they come up places you don't want them.
They usually appear late and sometimes they just don't return. I would say
that off all the plants I can think of, alyssum fits your requirement the
best. It is very reliable, forms a dense carpet, and tends to come back
close to the original plant's location. I don't know about how hearty the
seeds are in zone 4, but you could always just get a few packets of seed and
direct sow them yourself.