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Heritage Wild Flowers

The North of England's Leading Wild Flower Specialist

Information and Advice on Propagation

A good general “rule of thumb” method for raising most perennial or biennial wild flowers from seed:

Sow the seeds in early Autumn into a pot or seed tray containing a good quality compost - experience taught us that the best mix was 50% loam based / 50% peat-free general purpose, coarsely seived to remove larger “lumps” (don’t waste those, mix in with potting-on mix). Very lightly cover any large seed - leave smaller seed on the surface. Gently firm surface and water, cover with glass if possible (many species require light to geminate), and place in a sheltered spot (not indoors, as many species require a period of frost to initiate germination).

When the seeds start to germinate, prick out when large enough to handle into individual pots or trays, and replace the seed tray to allow further germination to occur, as wild flower germination can be rather sporadic; in fact in some instances the first seeds to germinate appear to release an inhibiting chemical which prevents further germination until they have been pricked out and removed from the tray.

For most annuals, sowing should be directly into required position into prepared soil - most require freshly disturbed ground to successfully germinate - usually this is done in spring.

As is to be expected, there are a number of species for which a slightly (or drastically) different method is required for best success; as a consequence of this all our species and mixes packets come with more detailed and species specific infomation and advice.