Easy perennials to grow from seed.

[boatsman]

I don't know if you can obtain gazania seeds in UK. If you can they are easy to grow, just need a sunny area and they will self seed all over the place.

[Martin H]

Gazanias are available over here, but they aren't reliably hardy and the self-seeded ones come up too late in the year to be very useful. I save seed every year and start it off indoors in March, treating it like a half-hardy annual basically.

[sparrow100]

Gazanias are available over here, but they aren't reliably hardy and the self-seeded ones come up too late in the year to be very useful. I save seed every year and start it off indoors in March, treating it like a half-hardy annual basically.

ooooooh cracking, I've just bought some of those.

What about primula vialii? I LOVE them & have just bought a pack of seed to boost my plant numbers. Admittedly I have no idea if they are fiddly. But look how pretty...

[muddled]

I also love sweet williams and have a packed that i've been scared to ruin lol,, thanks for the info,,i'll get straight on it Do you know if i could use a blowaway greenhouse as a cold frame?

I just put them outside in a sheltered bit garden (in three inch pots) all winter AvidnewBee, no coldframe at all...was a mild one last year though.

I'm loving this thread. So many wonderful ideas!

[Scarlet]

I love poppies - the oriental ones are perennial, easy to start from seed. Echinacea is easy to start from seed but is often short lived. Ive also got Rudbeckia - black eyed Susan growing well after several years..it self seeds too do I can move them about.

Lychnis coronaria, I have a cerise pink one (Rose campion) the also come in white. I didn't start it from seed, I was gifted. It but it self seeds everywhere..so I presume it would be easy enough to germinate.

[veggiechicken]

Verbena bonariensis, Hesperis matronalis (Sweet rocket), some of the lysimachias (loosestrife)............

[muddled]

I have beautiful peonies in my garden.
The huge flowers start off the colour of blood and 'fade' to an awesome magenta pink.

I have absolutely no idea what kind they are, oriental or otherwise, but there are currently plenty of seedheads on them if any of you want to try them?

[Small pumpkin]

I'm loving this thread. So many wonderful ideas!

I second that
I'm going to be stealing so many ideas from this thread

[ecudc]

Most will flower in their second year but this year I have sown from seed with success.

Primula's
Foxglove (some are biennial, some short lived perennial)
Dahlia Bishops children (Already flowers lol- probably needs to be lifted if further north than London or if your soil is heavy clay)
Passion Fruit - From seed in the supermarket Might take a while to flower if it survives.
Dianthus - Smells nice.
Viola
Echinacia
Globe artichokes (well they do have a flower, you don't have to eat it )
Echinops


I tried mecanopsis once, that was not successful

[SusieG]

A great thread, this! Excellent suggestions ...... Just what I needed for my 'borders' plan for next year....

Now I've got my raised beds up and running (mostly veg...) my next plan is to reclaim the weed-filled borders ... started a small patch where I planted newly purchased Astilbe, which got me thinking - I paid £12.99 for this lovely mature plant, and was weighing the cost of filling my borders with ready grown plants ..... far too pricey ...... which is where VC and her not-to-be-missed -10-packs-of-seed-for-a-fiver-offer, grabbed me..!


So, 10 packs of seed plus a further 'surprise' 10 packs later (not a single veggie seed in sight..!!) - my plan can take some shape: sow lots of seeds to overwinter and plant out next year - saving a fortune on garden centre bought plants ...

My list (all perennials):

Echinacea purpurea 'Double Decker'
Hollyhock 'Nigra'
Chrysanthemum x koreanum 'Fanfare Improved'
Aquilegia x hybrida 'Royal Purple'
Oenothera 'Lemon Sunset'
Hollyhock 'Chater's Double Icicle'
Gardenia jasminoides
Malva sylvestris 'Mystic Merlin'
Delphinium grandiflorum 'Summer Nights'
Dianthus amurensis 'Siberian Blues'
And my 'lucky dip' ... X 10 packs

I also intend (the following year) to start from seed, some annuals to plant alongside my perennials ....
That's the plan, anyway .......

If anyone has any suggestions or reasons why any of the above are wrong choices, or whatever, give me the heads up please, as I'm running blind here knowing nowt about flowers.....!!!!

[cheops]

Dahlia Bishops children (Already flowers lol- probably needs to be lifted if further north than London or if your soil is heavy clay)- quote from Ecudc.
Hi Ecudc- you may be surprised that the part of N Ireland I hail from has a similar climate to London. Hard to believe but google it.
For example - Earlier in the year I used a website which predicted the last expected frost in your region/town. For where I am the last predicted frost was late April - exactly the same prediction for London. Yet, my sister in Ballymena which is only about fifty miles from me -the prediction was late May.
It is unusual to have snow here and this winter past there were only three frosts I woke up to.

[Thelma Sanders]

For Autumn planting I ordered Heuchera melting fire (red leaves), 2 Penstemons husker red (red leaves white flowers)and Iron Maiden (red flowers), Mixed Helianthemums, Verbascum snow maiden, Chrysanthemum blue knoll. Purple thyme and mixed Aubretia for the rockery.

The Pacific giant delphiniums I sowed in Spring are now ready to move from their modules to bigger pots, and the diascias are flowering their socks off in the baskets Must remember to bring these into the greenhouse to over-winter though, as diascias are not fully hardy.

I usually sow the whole packet and get enough germination for a couple of 'clumps' in the border. The only thing I can remember having zero germination from was cyclamen So buy the seeds cheap and try anything you fancy.
You could wait for the Wyevale end of season 50p seeds, there are always lots of flowers there

[ecudc]

Hey cheops, it's not just the date of frost. Dehlia can survive a light frost if mulched but in general in England the further north the wetter the weather and the deeper and longer the frost with more frost days. However that is tempered by your promimity to coast (less frost) altitude (more frost) and other geographic conditions. My understanding is that just like Mary Berry Dehlia do not like a soggy bottom and a frozen bottom even less so if you are in any doubt it's better to lift. I have one bishops children that I don't like very much (green foliage not bronze and a yellow flower) so I might see how it goes and if it doesn't come up next year then no loss.

[cheops]

You are making good points Ecudc and I agree the further north generally the wetter it is but again where I am it a is a bit of a micro climate and the result is much drier here compared to north of England, Scotland and the rest of N.Ireland.
A few miles down the road from me is the historic house now run by the National Trust called Mount Stewart. It's gardens are beautiful and considered to be in the top ten gardens in the UK. One of the reasons this garden is so celebrated and fantastic is the mild micro climate existing here.
And Strangford Lough here again because of the micro climate is an extremely important winter feeding ground for many overwintering sea birds, ducks and geese.

[Guest]

Susie they all look good to me with one exception. Gardenia - SP started a thread recently as she was given one and it is treated as a house plant.

In regards to dahlia - Bishops Children. They grow easily from seed so if you are not fussed about colours and don't want to faff about lifting just save the seeds (it is what I have done for 5 years). If there is a particular one you like you can prop. by root cutting (a tuber bit with a ?heel - but upwards - I will try and explain better if you are interested)