Perennials that are easy-to-grow from seed

Aww, what a cute new seedling Bethlehem sage (Pulmonaria saccharata)! Few aspects of gardening are more thrilling than watching seed you sowed emerge and grow. Yet failure with seeds can be a sad frustration, and likely if you sow seeds of species like Pulmonaria indoors -- the seed may not sprout for you although it germinates readily in a garden where winter has provided the requisite cold/warm cycle. The list of easy-from-seed perennials in this article helps you avoid such disappointment.

Hi Janet & Steve,

Can you name some perennials that are simple to grow from seed? I don't want to fuss with freezing seed or waiting around forever, just want to have some fun and grow some from seed. Which do you suggest? - J. J. -

We decided to ask professional growers for their recommendations, and came up with the list of easy-grow from seed perennials, below. (We've also added this list to our perennial lists page where you'll find other aids for choosing perennials.)

Thanks for asking, J.J., because this project was fun at every turn, starting with the reminiscing involved. It took us and te growers we polled right back to our first years of growing, because it turned out there is no better way to recall the simplest than to think back on what we first had in abundance in our own gardens. Those tended to be the species that had started so readily we'd ended up with extras. Since no one who grows from seed can bear to throw away a seedling every extra or unsold plantlet goes out into the grower's own garden.

The growers

We polled this group and compiled one list from their responses:

Karen Bovio of Specialty Growers in Howell, MI
George Papadelis of Telly's Nursery in Troy, MI
Margaret Thele of Sage Advice Nursery in Keego Harbor, MI
Erma Rhadigan of Ray Wiegand's Nursery in Macomb, MI
Cheryl Bennerup, first part of this "gang" when she owned Cheryl's Gardens in Milford, MI; now with Sunny Border Nursery in Berlin, Connecticut (and helping us help you with the Secrets workshop series).
Karen Wendland of Shady Lane Greenhouses, Menominee Falls, Wisconsin
Dan Heims of Terra Nova Nursery, a leading-edge wholesale grower

We asked:

"Can you name four or five easy-seed perennials we can list in an article on GardenAtoZ.com?" All of these folks could quickly name four or five. We'd expected that, and to hear some repetition between them. However, we didn't imagine we'd have a nearly-unanimous number one pick: Coreopsis.

Cheryl Bennerup sums up our joint perspective on this topic: "Your question was an excellent one and I had a lot of fun with it. I wrote down my own list and then asked Pierre (Bennerup)..., our grower Sarah, our grower and propagation manager Jan... and wow, what a list we created"

Karen Bovio also contributed lots of practical how-to for seed starting in Growing Perennials from Seed. Her Specialty Growers website is chock full of this kind of help; we're very glad to be able to feature her here, too. Many thanks for that "extra", Karen!

The growers' picks for easy-to-grow perennial seed

The perennials below are quick to germinate (usually within 2 weeks) and do not require stratification (alternate freeze and thaw) or scarification (manual breaking of a hard seed coat, such as by abrasion, sanding, or nicking). We include notes regarding preferred site and hardiness: Sun, part shade, whether EDR (excellent drainage required) and USDA hardiness zone number.

For more about an individual perennial including use and care advice, follow the link from the plant's picture or name, or type its scientific name into our Search field for more articles.

(We're still creating all the individual perennials' pages,
and forging these links as we go. Bear with us --
tell us which you most want to see, perhaps by
Sponsoring that page!)

Aster species; Sun, Z3
Balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus); Sun, EDR, Z3
Bee balm (Monarda species); Sun or part shade, Z4
Blackeye Susan (Rudbeckia species); Sun, Z2

Below: Right to left, aster, balloon flower, bee balm, blackeye Susan

Blanket flower (Gaillardia species and varieties); Sun, EDR, Z3
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa); Sun, EDR, Z3
Carpet bellflower (Campanula carpatica); Sun, EDR, Z4 (not pictured here)
Catmint (Nepeta species); Sun, Z3
Centaurea species (such as perennial bachelor button/mountain bluet C. montana); Sun, Z3
Columbine (Aquilegia species and hybrids); Part shade or sun, Z3. Note: There is some controversy about whether these seeds need cold treatment.

Below: Left to right, Blanket flower, butterfly weed, catmint, perennial bachelor button, columbine.

Coral bells (Heuchera sanguinea); Part shade to sun, Z3. Note: All the new varieties with colorful leaves are not only complex hybrids but patent protected, yet we still love the delightful green-leaf, red flowered species, do-able from seed. *tiny
Coreopsis. Lanceleaf tickseed (C. lanceolata) mouse ear tickseed (C. auriculata) and others. ; Sun, Z4. Many hybrids and varieties sold at garden centers can't be grown from seed but for each of those there are a half dozen tried and true varieties that can be seed grown.
Daisy (Leucanthemum species); Sun, Z3
Delphinium (tall Delphinium elatum); Sun, Z5
English daisy (Bellis perennis); Sun to part shade, Z4 (not pictured here)
False indigo (Baptisia australis); Sun, EDR, Z3

Below: Left to right, coral bells, Coreopsis, daisy, delphinium, false indigo.

False sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides); Sun, Z3 (not pictured here)
Foxglove (Digitalis species); Sun, EDR, Z4, *tiny
Gayfeather/Blazing star (Liatris); Sun, Z3
Goldenrod (Solidago species); Sun, Z4
Hollyhock (Alcea rosea); Sun, Z3
Leopardsbane (Doronicum species); Part shade to sun, Z4
Leopardplant (Ligularia species); Part shade, Z3

Below: Left to right, foxglove, gayfeather, goldenrod, hollyhock, leopardsbane, leopardplant.

Lychnis species (such as Maltese cross L. chalcedonica or scarlet campion L. coronaria); Sun, Z3
Meadow rue (Thalictrum species); Part shade to sun, Z4
Mullein (Verbascum species); Sun, EDR, Z5, *tiny
Mum, especially Chrysanthemum species; Sun, Z5
Pansy, other violets (Viola x wittrockiana is the traditional "pansy" but many other Viola species are fun and easy to grow from seed); Part shade to sun, Z5

Below: Left to right, scarlet campion, meadow rue, mullein, mum, downy violet.

Pigsqueak (Bergenia species); Sun to part shade, Z3
Pinks (Dianthus species, especially sweet William/D. barbatus); Sun to part shade, EDR, Z4, *tiny
Poppies (Papaver species); Sun, EDR, Z3
Primrose/Cowslip (Primula species); Part shade to sun, Z5, some Z3
Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea); Sun to part shade, Z3

Below: Left to right, pigsqueak, pinks, oriental poppy, primrose, purple coneflower.

Sage (Salvia species); Sun, EDR, Z5, some Z4
Shooting star (Dodecatheon media); Sun, EDR, Z4
Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata); Sun, EDR, Z3

Below: Left to right, sage, shooting star, swamp milkweed.

* Tiny indicates tiny seed. Although it germinates quickly it can be tricky to handle. See Karen Bovio's advice for sowing Dianthus for help sowing tiny seeds.

Cheryl Bennerup adds: "...once (perennial seeds are) germinated or nearly all germinated they should be... kept on the cooler side not the warmer side. Not too cold where you end up having to deal with botrytis but not necessarily super warm like many think it would be." One way to accomplish this is to move the flat of just-emerged seedlings outdoors into a cold frame such as shown below.

Below: Some of grower Barry Glick's cold frames at Sunshine Farm & Garden in Renick in the zone 5 hills of West Virginia. Covered with glass or plastic but without supplemental heat (heating cables or manure would make it a hot bed) a cold frame holds enough warmth from the ground to keep seedlings from freezing -- even in March or April -- but allows them full sun. The result: stocky, vigorous young plants.

Perennials that are easy-to-grow from seed

The growers

The growers' picks for easy-to-grow perennial seed

More seed-starting information in these related articles:

Related links