Over the past few weeks we’ve looked at the idea of growing our own annual flowers from seed. We’ve looked at both the general ideas behind starting flowers from seed as well as the specifics of growing pansies. This week I’d like to start taking a very generalized look at a few other annuals that northern growers should consider trying for themselves.
The Mediterranean based snapdragon is a perfect example of a nice easy annual that is a great idea to grow from seed. You can always buy a few cell packs of snapdragons at the local nursery where you will pay a couple of dollars for four plants or you can buy a packet of seed and grow dozens (or more) of plants for a couple of dollars. Growing a large number of seedlings like this will also result in a much greater variety of colours. Since snapdragons flower early and can often survive light freezes or hard frosts, they are a perfect candidate to start in large numbers for your northern flower garden. They will fill substantial areas with swaths of colour until the weather warms up and you are able to replace them with more delicate warm season flowers. Under the right conditions, snapdragons often survive a winter or two and can easily reseed themselves if not constantly dead-headed.
Starting snapdragon seeds could not be easier. Six to eight weeks before your last frost date, simply sprinkle the seeds onto the surface of a damp light-weight sterile seed starting mix. Press the seeds into the soil surface gently with your finger and then dampen the seeds with a mist bottle. Place the seed tray in a warm bright place (snapdragon seeds need light to germinate) and cover with something clear such as plastic wrap. Spritz as needed to keep the seeds moist. Once the seeds have germinated in a week or so, remove the plastic wrap and water gently as needed until the seedlings are large enough to pot up into their own containers. As soon as the danger of hard freezes is over, harden your seedlings off and then plant into a rich soil in full sun. Regularly dead-heading snapdragons can often keep them blooming all summer. One interesting thing about snapdragons (and many annual flowers) is that some of the smallest and weakest looking seedlings produce the most interesting and unusual colours. Be sure to save your “weak” seedlings and plant them out with the rest.
The roots of the Latin name for snapdragons means “nose like” because of their odd shape. The mythical meaning assigned to snapdragon flowers is graciousness and deception. Beautiful and enchanting snapdragon flowers were thought to bestow those same characteristics on people. To accomplish this one had only to carry concealed snapdragon flowers on themselves. While their common name refers to the resemblance of a dragon’s mouth opening and closing when the flower is gently squeezed, it is the seed pods that are truly bizarre. The dried seed pods of snapdragons look just like human skulls. Carrying the skull-like seed pods was traditionally used to ward off sorcery and witchcraft. Eating snapdragon flowers was even once thought to bestow eternal youth on adventurous women.
Another annual flower that is super cheap to grow from seeds is the dahlia. A few dollars for a packet of twenty or thirty seeds goes a lot further than the same few dollars for a single dahlia root. And if you’d like to turn your annual dahlias into “perennials”, simply dig up the small tubers they produce before the ground freezes in the fall and store them over winter in a damp cool place. The plants grown from these tubers will be even larger and more spectacular in year two.
Dahlia seeds need to be just slightly covered in a moist sterile seed starting mix. Cover the seed tray with clear plastic wrap or a propagator dome and place on a heat source such as a seed starting mat. After seedlings appear, move the tray to a bright warm spot and keep evenly moist but not wet. Once your dahlia seedlings have a couple sets of true leaves they should be potted up into small pots and grown until all danger of frost has passed. If you dead head your dahlias they will flower right up until frost. If you’d like to try an even more interesting project, let some dahlia flowers set seed. Save these and grow your own odd-balls next spring. Each dahlia seed has the potential to produce a new and unusual flower. If you should get so lucky as to come up with something really special, be sure to save the tubers as this will allow you to clone the new flower.
This Mexican native comes in many shapes and colours with a flower-meaning for each. I sense the need for a much longer column on dahlias one day soon!
