# Flower seed spread in spring. will it come up next year?



## Illinois Bee (May 6, 2015)

I have several acres of CRP in East Central Illinois and burned about half of it in March. Lots of golden rod, not too much grass. I wanted to take advantage of the relatively bare ground after the burn (I wanted good seed/ soil contact) so I spread flower seed over it at the end of March. I spread milkweed, black eyed Susan, coreopsis, purple coneflower, foxglove beardtongue, partridge pea, and white wild indigo. I checked about 2 wks ago, and I've seen a fair bit of the partridge pea. I'm pretty happy about that. I have not been able to identify much of anything else. Maybe it was just young and will flower yet, but I suspect/ fear a fair bit of it did not germinate. Since spreading the seed I've learned that at least some (if not much) of the seed I spread needs a sufficient cold period (milkweed for sure). *My question is, for the seed that did not germinate this summer, will it still be good next year and germinate after it's had a winter of cold weather?* Thanks. - Jeff


----------



## MDJ (Apr 19, 2012)

The seed still should be good and germinate next year. Some of the plants probably did already germinate, but are busy putting down roots this first year. You should see the coreopsis next spring spring. If you do, it is a good sign that the seeding worked. Some of the plants will take several years before they bloom. 

If you're enrolled in CRP stop by the local NRCS office and see one of their biologist could come evaluate your planting. They should at least be able to give you some good information so you can better identify the young plants.


----------



## GaryG74 (Apr 9, 2014)

Watch for weeds and grass and don't let them take over while the desired plants are getting established. Check some of the wildflower seed sources for plant identification of young seedlings so you'll be able to identify the young wild flowers. A lot of the plants you seeded are perennials and will bloom the second or third year, the milkweed and cone flower being two of them. Good luck!


----------



## Westhill (Jul 26, 2012)

Yes. Many wildflower seeds actually need a period of damp cold, or they won't germinate. This is because in nature, plants drop their seeds in summer. If the seeds sprouted without the damp cold period, the plants would come up in fall, right before winter comes along to kill them. Not good. So plants have developed seeds that need that cold, wet period, before they will come up and grow.


----------

