PerennialsDiscover the right perennial plants for your garden.
Q : Is there a antic to growing perennials from seed ? I ’m restrain by the process . Can you help get me started?-Sam Ferrara , Merrick , N.Y.
A : look out seedling come forth from the dirt is one of my bang-up bang as a gardener . And originate herbaceous perennials from seed is one of gardening ’s great economies . In contrast to the rigamarole of start annual flowers and vegetable indoors , the routine with perennials is childlike . In fact , most perennial prefer to get their starting time outdoors because they need some exposure to cold , damp conditions — a process known as stratification — to fix them for spring spud . This is nature ’s agency of keep on seeds from come forth prematurely during a warm spell in late autumn or wintertime . Over the age , I ’ve had my success and failures , but I ’ve found that the headstone is sowing clean , viable semen . repeated come should be kept wry and cool ( 35º to 50º F ) . So I store them ( along with moisture - absorbing silica gel that I buy at a hobby store ) in Tupperware in the refrigerator to prepare for wintertime sowing .
repeated semen are normally ready to sow as is , but those with hair or chaff ( husks ) should be strip clear . Soak severely - surface seeds such as lupines , baptisia , andthermopsisin scalding - raging water for a few hours ; once they sink , they are ready to seed . ( nick all the seeds with a file helps them soak up some water . ) Members of the Ranunculaceae family — delphiniums , peonies , anemones , false hellebore , and pasqueflowers — should be sown as presently as the seeds ripen after anthesis , but I sow all other perennials in January and February in 4 - inch plastic or clay potty filled with a moistened , sterile , peat - base potting soil mixed with an adequate amount of coarse wash builder ’s Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin . After pressing the seeds into the land , I shake a thin ( about 1/16th column inch ) layer of aquarium grit on top , as a water - conserve and temperature - tone down mulch . tearing from below , I know the soil is fully moistened when the gritrock turns dark . Then I put them out in a reliably frigid and shady field , such as the Second Earl of Guilford side of a building . If it pull the wool over someone’s eyes , I shovel the white stuff on top . In dry climates , you may need to water them a few time before spring . In rainy clime , you ’ll need to cover them with a pane of glass , or the seed may waste in the waterlogged grunge . Otherwise , ignore the come until they spud in spring .
Some species burgeon forth as soon as the temperature gets above 50ºF ; others wait until it ’s really warm . Some will come along sporadically over a yr ’s fourth dimension . A few will never come up , but do n’t take it personally . Those that do appear can be moved into their own pots in other summer and planted in the garden come fall .
