These 7 Flower Seeds to Sow in Fall Are the Best Investment You'll Make for Next Year's Garden
For the cost of a few packets of seeds, you can enjoy strong plants that produce drifts of flowers from late spring through summer.
Lots of flowering plants are best sown in spring once days begin to lengthen and the last frost is behind us, but there are plenty that can be sown in fall for abundant blooms the following summer. In fact, there are lots of seeds that are better started in fall than spring. Get all these tough-cookie varieties into the ground now and you’ll get bigger plants that flower earlier next year than if you’d sown the exact same seed in spring.
You see, some seeds need to be exposed to low temperatures and moisture before they’ll germinate, a process called cold stratification. That’s why you’ll see tips about freezing poppy seeds in ice cubes before sowing. But it’s far easier to simply let winter do the job for you. Because germination is largely governed by day length or temperature, and sometimes both, you can rest assured that fall-sown seed will sprout at the exact right moment in spring that suits it best, too.
Other species are hardy enough that they will germinate quickly in fall and survive winter as a small plant, racing ahead of spring-sown varieties as soon as the sun’s warmth returns. But the really good news is that because of their naturally resilient nature, seeds that can be sown in fall are usually low-maintenance plants that practically grow themselves, and gently self-seed to give you more blooms for free. Which of these beauties will you sow this fall, for the wisest garden investment you'll make this year?
1. Bachelor Buttons
Cornflowers sown in fall will flower by late May and June, so by making a spring sowing too, you can enjoy these low-maintenance blooms in your garden for months. While there are plenty of many-petalled varieties to choose from, the simpler open flowers allow bees and butterflies better access to the sweet nectar. Birds will eat the seeds, too.
Centaurea cyanus ‘Blue Boy’ has a lovely blue hue and grows 2-3 feet tall and is particularly attractive to pollinators; stems last well in a vase and the petals are edible, making a pretty sprinkling in salads or on cupcakes. Cornflower ‘Blue Boy’ seeds are available from Botanical Interests. September is an ideal month to sow and while it’s an annual, Bachelor Buttons gently self-sow so will return without any assistance from you.
2. Poppies
Papaver somniferum are annual poppies, completing their lifecycle in a year but gently self-seeding for fresh plants the following year. They need a period of cold to germinate well so by sowing them in fall, you give them the natural conditions to which they’re suited.
There are all sorts of wonderful Papaver somniferum to choose from, which is why it’s fun to grow a blend of varieties such as the Peony Double Blend Poppy Seeds from Botanical Interests. Double poppies look rather like peonies and their nodding buds and shapely seedpods all add to the display.
3. Purple Coneflower
Sowing perennial Echinacea purpurea in fall mimics its natural lifecycle and cool winter temperatures will lead to strong germination in spring. Because seeds sprout as soon as the conditions are viable, you’ll get stronger plants this way, too. Echinacea purpurea usually spends its first year growing foliage and a supportive root system, adding flowers in the second year and reaching full blooming abundance in its third year. Get them off to a head start with a fall sowing, however, and you may be lucky and be rewarded with a few flowers in the first year.
So yes, you’ll need to be a little patient, but looking at the pricetags of mature ready-to-bloom plants can help with that! Echinacea purpurea seeds are available from Eden Brothers and the perfect time to sow is right around your first hard frost.
4. Larkspur
A September or October sowing of larkspur brings larger plants and longer stems of this pretty as pretty can be plant. Consolida regalis flowers in late spring and early summer and, in cooler zones, can carry on flowering all the way to fall, and is much loved by hummingbirds. Growing 3-4 feet tall, these elegant spires are prized by florists, and the stems dry well for lasting arrangements, too.
Larkspur ‘Shades of Blue’, available from Botanical Interests, is a favorite as it has multiple blue hues and, though it’s an annual, self-seeds easily. One word of caution: all parts of this plant are toxic if eaten.
5. Calendula
Sow calendula seeds in September or October, around a month before your first expected frost, and you can look forward to strong plants and earlier blooms in spring. Not all calendula are orange, and you can find varieties in shades from cream through yellow and bronze and even pink, like these Surprise calendula seeds from Amazon.
This is a hard-working, low-maintenance plant that’s indispensable in the garden. As well as looking pretty, flowers acts as a trap crop to lure pests from vegetable plants, stems last well in a vase and the petals are edible and can be used to make skincare products.
6. Butterfly Weed
Not a weed at all but a rather lovely plant with vivid orange flowers that draw butterflies from all around, and particularly Monarchs. Butterly weed is another plant that needs a period of cold stratification so let winter do the work for you, then enjoy flowers all through summer and the following fall.
Asclepias tuberosa is a perennial in zones 3-10 so it’ll be back, year after year. Butterfly weed seed is available from Eden Brothers and, for best results, wait until the soil cools down in November before sowing.
7. Coreopsis
Coreopsis lanceolata is one of the few perennials that will flower the first year from sowing, especially if you give it a head start with a fall sowing. This North American native is beloved by pollinators, so you’ll be adding lots of life to your garden as well as these cheery yellow tickseed blooms.
Lance-leaved coreopsis seed is available from Eden Brothers and the best time to sow is late fall around the first hard frost. Freeze-thaw action over winter will lead to good germination as soon as the ground warms up in early spring.
Tips for a Successful Fall Sowing
- All these seeds can be direct-sown where they are to grow.
- Rake the soil to create a fine texture (called a tilth) and sow seeds according to the instructions on the packet. Some seeds need light to germinate, some need dark, so you'll get far better results if you stick to the sowing guidelines.
- Sow a little more than you want as some seed will inevitably get eaten.
- It can be tricky to know what's a weed and what's a seedling, so sow a pinch of seed in a pot with a label, too. That way, you can easily identify your seedlings.
