# Wild Flower Seeds = $$$$$$$$



## Illinois Bee (May 6, 2015)

Don't buy the mixes. The seed companies charge a premium for just packaging a mix. If you bought the same amount of seeds as individual orders/ line items, you'd spend less. By spending some time researching what seeds are in the mix, what wildflowers are good for bees, when the different seeds bloom, and the cost of the seed per pound, you can create your own seed mixes. You can come up with your own seed mix that uses less expensive seed (and/ or reduced quantities of the more expensive stuff) and still create good bee forage. Shop around as well on the internet. Some of the seed nurseries I've used are:
Prairie Moon Nursery: https://www.prairiemoon.com
Johnston Seed Company: http://www.jeinc.com/seed
Missouri Wildflowers Nursery: http://mowildflowers.net/
Clover isn't wildflowers, but I've typically bought different varieties of clover seed for less than $5/ lb at a local seed dealer. Wildflower seed isn't cheap, but you can save money by doing some research and buying individual varieties of seed to create your own mix.


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## Illinois Bee (May 6, 2015)

PS 20# per acre also sounds a little questionable to me. There might be a little marketing in that figure.


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## LeonardS (Mar 13, 2012)

Go to edenbrothers.com and sign up for their email list. They will send you a new special every day or two. Just wait for a special on the seeds you want. You can get a 10% discount every day with code "loyalcustomer". Also, free shipping on orders over $69.


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## Dan P (Oct 29, 2014)

I get my seeds from hancoock and some from american meadows. Make sure they will grow in your zone. I also spread white alicia clover


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## rv10flyer (Feb 25, 2015)

We just bought about 30 lbs of a pollinator flower mix from Ernst Seeds in PA. $750 for 1.5 acre. They are just starting to germinate.


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## Agis Apiaries (Jul 22, 2014)

Holy cow, that's expensive! If a bee will fly 5 miles from the hive and back, a circle with a radius of 5 miles contains roughly 50,000 acres. I don't think I'm gonna shell out that much money to put flowers on one of them.


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## rv10flyer (Feb 25, 2015)

Saves mowing 20X per year, fertilize, water and you can save seed for future sites. Pays for itself in 1-2 summers. It is not just for honey bees. We will let you know how it goes. We really need to get away from the high maintenance green carpet look and bee keepers are the last ones that need to be reminded.


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## Jason A (Mar 28, 2016)

rv10flyer said:


> We just bought about 30 lbs of a pollinator flower mix from Ernst Seeds in PA. $750 for 1.5 acre. They are just starting to germinate.


Ouch


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## Rob789 (May 10, 2016)

I came across this the other day: http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-8625-bee-feed-mix.aspx#

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/c-134-flower-collections-and-mixes.aspx

I've ordered vegetable seeds from Johnny's in the past. Those seeds had high germination rates for me and were the cultivars they advertised. 

It looks like they recommend 6 to 12 pounds of seed per acre for their mix.


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## photobiker (Mar 23, 2015)

I think clover is the way to go. A whole lot less expensive and blooms a continuously. An acre of wild flowers blooming would look great but too pricey for me.


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## Coach62 (Mar 26, 2016)

Not sure in your area, but I was told explicitly to wait until fall to plant for next spring. But then again I live in zone 10. Ask before you spend!! 

It was the FL wildflower Assn that told me this. I was trying to place an order and they told me they wouldn't sell to me because they didn't want to waste my money. Told me to call back next August, then they'd sell. 

I plan on planting only native FL wild flowers here as our soil is so lousy.


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## tech.35058 (Jul 29, 2013)

Yup. I tend to choke on seed prices. I went out & picked a 5 gallon bucket full of crimson clover dried blossoms, kind of puts things into perspective.
I am currently picking the seeds of "volunteer" from last year buck wheat & planting them. It appears I did not harvest enough seed last year, but at $20/pound, I thought I had enough.
also picked some milk weed seed heads a week or so back. I expect the cattleman who's pasture I picked them from thinks I am un-American, & I may yet have second thoughts about planting them, apparently they are very poisonous to cattle. CE


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## mhammock01 (Oct 3, 2021)

Jason A said:


> Planning for next spring, I'm researching wild flower mixes for my bees. I want to cut and till sizable portions of my property, spread the pollinator mix of wild flower seeds. They aren't cheap and it appears that the amount needed per acre differs. Seed Source ( Bee Happy Mix Product Detail at Native American Seed ) claims that you need 20 lbs (at $44 a lb) for one acre - they sale the seeds. The Xerces Society claims that 3 to 10 lbs per acre. My mixes are for native seeds in Texas, designed for bees. Has anyone bought wild flower seeds and planted an acre. If so, how much did you use? How did it turn out?


We're looking at the same thing here in st louis for our community garden. We are going to go with Beneficial Bees native seed mix from Pure Air Natives. They were recommended to us by a few different farmers markets. I dont which you would choose for your area - -but here's a quick link if you wanted to see what we reviewed and purchased. 
https://pureairnatives.com/tag/pollinators/ 

Btw - I dont work for their company . And I also saw Pure Air Natives on the Xerces seed vendor page as well. 

Good luck!!!


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