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Tips on Starting Annuals from Seeds from the Cooperative Extension

Even if your flower garden is mostly perennials, you can probably still use some annuals in the garden. Try using them to fill in bare spaces between perennials and provide continuous color to augment the shorter bloom seasons of perennials.

Some annual flowers are quite easy to grow from seeds. If you are not comfortable seeding directly in the garden, you can start some in a sunny window sill now for planting in mid-May. Otherwise, simply scratch up some swatches of bare soil and plant the seeds in the garden in late April or early May.

Some good ones to try direct seeding into garden spaces include cosmos,Try growing some annuals from seed! marigolds, sunflowers, zinnias, gomphrena, cleome and strawflower.

Direct - Seeding Tips:

Cover seeds lightly, unless otherwise directed on seed packet.
Keep the seedbed evenly moist until seeds germinate.
Thin seedlings to correct spacing when they are 1 to 2 inches tall. If you are careful you can move some to other locations.
Do not fertilize until plants are 2 to 3 inches tall. A couple of light fertilizations during the growing season is better than too much on small seedlings.

For more information, call Buncombe County Cooperative Extension at 255-5522.

(Image provided by the Buncombe County Cooperative Extension.)