It’s Time to Turn Our Attention to Seeds

by Carol Nagy Jacklin and Sally Snipes

As the first flowers of our spring bulbs fade, it’s time to turn our attention to seeds.

Seeds are wondrous! Take a large bean seed, soak it overnight, peel off the soft covering and carefully pry it open. Inside, you will see a tiny embryo of the plant that will grow from the seed. The root structure, a short stem, and two leaflike structures are all visible.

The right conditions are all the seed needs to grow a plant. It’s the gardener’s job to provide those right conditions — or to be sure that some seeds in the garden do not get a chance to grow.

We want to talk about getting rid of undesirable seeds and giving the best possible conditions to the seeds we plant. We also need to decide when planting plants, rather than seeds, is the better course of action.

Undesirable seeds

There are two types of seeds we need to eliminate: The first is seeds of plants we don’t want — weed seeds are the obvious ones.

Most weeds are annuals. If we can get rid of the weeds before they set seed, we will make enormous changes in the number of weeds in our gardens next year.

Some of these weeds are sneaky, though. We’ve seen weeds set seeds when the weed is less than an inch tall. Still, if you have a major crop of annual grass and it is impractical to pull all of it, put a mulch of 5 to 6 inches over it and let it all rot. This will kill the seed heads. Newspapers, spread an inch thick with some straw spread on top, also will stop the weeds and hold in moisture. Another alternative is to chop off the seed heads before they ripen and spread. If you don’t get rid of the seeds one way or another, next year’s crop will be even larger.

The second type of seed we need to eliminate won’t sprout, but it weakens desirable plants. For example, daffodil seedpods should be snapped off as they form. Daffodil seeds won’t sprout in ordinary garden conditions. But the plant puts energy into making the seeds. We want all the energy to be stored in the bulb for next year’s blooms. (Remember to leave your daffodil leaves on the plant until they turn completely yellow. While they are green, they are storing energy in their bulbs. That is why weed whacking the green leaves eliminates next year’s flowers, and may kill the plants.)

Unless you are saving seedpods for dried decorations, they should be cut off of most bulbs. Tulip, hyacinth, snowdrops, ranunculus, anemone, Asiatic lily and dahlia are examples. Snapping seed heads off of nearly all annuals and perennials greatly increases their bloom periods. Candytuft (Iberis) will put on an autumn show if their seedpods are cut before the seeds are set. Marigolds, zinnias and most other annuals will cheerfully rebloom until frost if they are not allowed to set seed.

Desirable seeds

It’s time to plant many seeds. In the flower garden, or wherever you’d like an informal touch of flowers, plant some annuals and biannuals that self-sow. These are plants that technically bloom only for one year, but since they are so good at producing seeds, they can last for years in the garden in proper conditions. The plants may not come up next year exactly where you would place them, but it’s wonderful to have flower surprises in unexpected places.

Many of these self-sowing annuals can be planted now from seeds or six-packs.

For sunny spots, consider calendula, cosmos, Shirley and Flanders field poppies, sweet alyssum, centranthus, feverfew and painted daisy (Chrysanthemum parthenium and C. coccineum).

For shady spots, consider larkspur, foxglove, lunaria (honesty), and violas (johnny-jump-ups are the best at self-sowing.) Wait for another month to plant California poppies, portulacas, four-o’clock, or cleome in the sun and impatiens in the shade.

In the vegetable garden, this is your last chance to plant cool-weather vegetable seeds (or plants from six-packs) such as peas, spinach, lettuce, carrots, radishes and beets. Big-seed vegetables, like beans and corn, should not be planted for another month or two. The ground has to be consistently warm for their seeds to get a good start.

Some advanced work, however, will make a big difference to your vegetable plot. If you prepare the soil and water it well now, weed seeds will germinate. It’s much easier to eliminate the weeds from your garden plot before you plant your warm-weather veggies.

Planting plants instead of seeds

In some cases, it’s better to buy plants than plant seeds. Hot-weather vegetables like tomatoes, eggplant and peppers are best not planted from seed. (Unless you started the seeds inside two months ago and have a cold frame or clear plastic or glass covers to protect the plants outside.) Since they don’t grow and produce except in very warm weather, it’s best to buy seedlings in six-packs and plant them next month. Try to check the roots of the plants in the garden centers to be sure they are not root-bound.

Garden centers and nurseries are bursting with their spring offerings. It’s a good idea to buy any unusual vegetable (or flower) plants in six-packs now even if it’s too early to plant them outside. Uncommon plants are in limited supply and will be gone if you try to buy them in another month when our ground is ready. You might have to coddle the seedlings, but it is worth the trouble to add diversity to your garden.

Other plants can grow from seed but with such difficulty that it’s best to buy the bulbs or plants. Summer-blooming bulbs like Asiatic lilies, cannas, dahlias, and gladiolus all do well in our mountains, and we recommend starting with the bulbs and planting them now.

Fall- and winter-blooming perennials such as asters and chrysanthemums can be grown from seed, but you, your neighbors or friends probably have clumps of these plants that should be divided. Those divisions or new plants will give you flowers this fall, while plants from seeds are unlikely to bloom until next year.

Seeds are remarkable. They have inspired gardeners and poets. Here’s one poet and would-be-gardener’s effort:

"...My garden will never make me famous,

I’m a horticultural ignoramus,

I can’t tell a string bean from a soybean.

Or a girl bean from a boy bean."

— Ogden Nash, "Versus"

If you need more motivation, there are spring community activities to help. Go on a garden tour, go to a wildflower show, or take a garden class. This may be the year you’ll design and plant the garden of your dreams.