Any advice on how to keep my flowers alive?

TheBellhop

<font color=purple>Get ready for a long post<br><f
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Jun 15, 2004
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So, um, I got this Wildflower mix, with some quite vague instructions, "Sow in prepared garden soil in full sunlight. Press seeds lightly in soil; keep evenly moist until all plants are established." Any ideas on how to establish the seeds, make them grow, and not die? I think they are annuals, looking at the wildflowers in it. Here are the plants in it:

Cornflower
Annual Sunflower
Purple Coneflower
Cosmos
Baby's Breath
Gaillardia
California Poppy
Lance Leaf Coreopsis
Siberian Wallflower
Forget Me Not
Globe Gilia
Plains Coreopsis
Rocky Mountain Beeplant
New England Aster
Rockcress
and Corn Poppy

Lots of them, eh?

So any thoughts, ideas, or advice?
 
This is a hard question to answer. Wild flower mixes are probably the hardest things to get estabished, and to keep growing.

One of the reasons is each flower has different starting, growing and maintaining conditions. Some like lots of water, some do not. When they mix these seed together you get plants that like different conditions.

When I read what your mix contains, it appears to be a field or plains wildflower mix. If you live in the plains this is a great mix, if not, you can still grow these plants, but do not expect too much.

For some reason they push these mixes and most never do well.

When you start plants outdoors there exposed to many pitfalls, heavy rain, scolding sun, damp dreary days. Germination is one of the most important parts of growing. Outdoor conditions are very up and down which makes this difficult.
 
So should I start the seeds in plants until they are well established and growing and then transfer them outside?
 
So should I start the seeds in plants until they are well established and growing and then transfer them outside?

I wouldn't. Are the seeds all mixed together in a bag/container? Or are they individual seed packets? If they are all mixed together, you would generally just sow them outdoors where you want them - a natural look for wildflowers. I have tried these types of mixes a couple of times with moderate success, but like Mamu said, all the plants have different growing needs, so you'll never know what will or will not 'take' in your area.

I see you are in PA, so my advice is to wait until the ground warms thoroughly and danger of frost has passed. Then prep the area you want them to grow in and sprinkle away! Cover lightly with soil and keep moist. Good luck!
 

I planted one of these mixes last year. Although the area looked beautiful I was disappointed that mostly cosmos grew. I found 3 tiny little miniature snapdragon looking flowers, a few alyssum and one of something I didn't recognize. I feel one of the problems with the mix I had was that there were such variances of heights that the tall flowers, which were the cosmos, took over. Once I recognized the short flowers, I moved them to the outer edges of the bed. I am hoping that this year they will re-seed where they can thrive. I'm not hoping for much though.
 

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