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annual flower question: "autumn or spring"
hello,
i hope this isn't the dumbest question on earth. i have a number of annual flower seeds which can be planted "autumn or spring". my question is: if you plant them in autumn, do they grow & flower in winter, or do they merely grow more slowly & then flower earlier in spring, or do they sit there & wait until early spring before they do anything? a related question: i am hoping some of my flowers will self-seed for next spring, but i have no idea if they generally will or won't in a cool (frosty) climate: nasturtium, paper daisies, alyssum (which afaik never actually die off ever ever ever and are the vampires of the flower world, but anyway... will they seed & spread?) and poppies. in particular the poppies, which are just beautiful (flanders fields poppies)!! i've noticed that things such as love-in-a-mist, larkspur, etc will just come up again in spring no matter what you do (except if you say "aha! a weed!!" and then pull them out before the penny drops, like i do ;-), is this the usual for annual flowers - that they'll just come back again next year if you've let them seed...? most likely i will have spread more mulch by spring - would this prevent germination & i should go easy on the mulch where my flowers are? (or do the seeds stay near the surface as teh mulch breaks down if it's thin enough?). lastly while i'm on the subject (sorry!!) i have some dark purple pansies which are about 18 months old (they were potted, but are now in the garden) & have not yet died nor ever stopped flowering. is this normal for pansies? will i have them forever? (are they just re-sowing themselves?!) thanks in advance - sorry this is a bit long. in short, anything you want to tell me about annual flowers, go for it g. ta. kylie |
#2
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annual flower question: "autumn or spring"
"0tterbot" wrote in message ... hello, i hope this isn't the dumbest question on earth. i have a number of annual flower seeds which can be planted "autumn or spring". my question is: if you plant them in autumn, do they grow & flower in winter, or do they merely grow more slowly & then flower earlier in spring, or do they sit there & wait until early spring before they do anything? Ummmm. Dunno depends on what the flowers are I guess. I've just been through my marg container of flower seed packets and only found one lot of seeds (Aquilega) which says that. In the case of them, I know they will sprout and then stay tiny till spring when they'll take off. a related question: i am hoping some of my flowers will self-seed for next spring, but i have no idea if they generally will or won't in a cool (frosty) climate: nasturtium, paper daisies, alyssum (which afaik never actually die off ever ever ever and are the vampires of the flower world, but anyway... will they seed & spread?) and poppies. in particular the poppies, which are just beautiful (flanders fields poppies)!! i've noticed that things such as love-in-a-mist, larkspur, etc will just come up again in spring no matter what you do (except if you say "aha! a weed!!" and then pull them out before the penny drops, like i do ;-), is this the usual for annual flowers - that they'll just come back again next year if you've let them seed...? Again depends. Lots will, some won't and some seasons won't suit some so they won't do well in that year but may romp away in others. I tend to be a very relaxed gardener and like to see flower heads right through to the end of their lives so once the seed heads come I then wander round the garden strewing seeds as I go. If I forget, or don't get round to putting on the mulch in spring, then I always get some flowers of some sort coming up in all sorts of odd spots round the garden. And I must admit that it these freely strewn seeds that pop up where it suits them that always look better than my attempts to be a 'garden designer' - they know best. most likely i will have spread more mulch by spring - would this prevent germination Yep. & i should go easy on the mulch where my flowers are? (or do the seeds stay near the surface as teh mulch breaks down if it's thin enough?). Yep. lastly while i'm on the subject (sorry!!) i have some dark purple pansies which are about 18 months old (they were potted, but are now in the garden) & have not yet died nor ever stopped flowering. is this normal for pansies? will i have them forever? (are they just re-sowing themselves?!) They may but then again they may not and they may also revert to some other looking pansy as well. The more you want them to reseed the less likely they are to do so. Keep nipping off the spent flowers as that will keep them going for a long time thanks in advance - sorry this is a bit long. in short, anything you want to tell me about annual flowers, go for it g. ta. Another book for you "Let the Garden Go" Cheryl Maddox - great for the country, time short gardener. |
#3
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annual flower question: "autumn or spring"
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
... "0tterbot" wrote in message ... hello, i hope this isn't the dumbest question on earth. i have a number of annual flower seeds which can be planted "autumn or spring". my question is: if you plant them in autumn, do they grow & flower in winter, or do they merely grow more slowly & then flower earlier in spring, or do they sit there & wait until early spring before they do anything? Ummmm. Dunno depends on what the flowers are I guess. heh, good point. i just don't have any info on some i have - so i can't work out if there's any point in doing it now (i don't think so if it can be put off.) lastly while i'm on the subject (sorry!!) i have some dark purple pansies which are about 18 months old (they were potted, but are now in the garden) & have not yet died nor ever stopped flowering. is this normal for pansies? will i have them forever? (are they just re-sowing themselves?!) They may but then again they may not and they may also revert to some other looking pansy as well. The more you want them to reseed the less likely they are to do so. Keep nipping off the spent flowers as that will keep them going for a long time well, they are a little vampirish also - i've never deadheaded them. the most extreme it got was i gave them a bit of a haircut one time when i decided they looked straggly. heaven knows what happens to the seeds, i don't look :-) thanks in advance - sorry this is a bit long. in short, anything you want to tell me about annual flowers, go for it g. ta. Another book for you "Let the Garden Go" Cheryl Maddox - great for the country, time short gardener. i'll keep my eyes open, thanks! i'm really not a "flower person" - not that i dislike flowers (quite the reverse!!) but i just can't be bothered fart-arsing about with something i can't eat :-) i just want them to either live forever or look after that side of things themselves after a while :-) kylie (who came to be really sorry about all the larkspur she pulled out without thinking....) |
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