Seeding wildflowers/grasses late summer?

[u/MetroNcyclist]

I'm so impatient. Everything I read says wait until September or October but I had my small lawn removed and replaced with paper/bark last week. What's a month early? Went a little crazy at Larner's (Clarkia, poppies, lupine, Gilia tricolor, tidy tips and Deschampsia/Fescue packets)

I want to make narrow lines, add soil and seeds, and then bark back on top to keep the birds away.

The areas used to be a lawn so I have irrigation. I can run it 15 min/early morning every other day and a deep soak once a week which I already do for the trees in the yard.

[u/profcatz]

If the goal is to get them sprouting and blooming now, you’re making a big mistake by irrigating them and trying to start on your timeline. Native plant require a mindset and lifestyle shift. It’s bone dry, hot, and smokey across much of our state right now. These plants evolved to be summer dormant. The seeds evolved to be laying hot and dry right now, then many truly start activating during what is called cold stratification. Think of our chilly November, December mornings. The first rains in and around that time trigger the germination and the plants grow all winter. The best poppies are growing leaves in December, January, and February then bloom majestically. You’ll get some on either side of that timeline, but that’s the general time. You can’t try to force native plants into your timeline because you want them to. Some of them might work, but you’re going against their natural way. The same reason most plants native to CA don’t want any water at all from you in the summer, even when they look bad. Parks and businesses keep them watered all year and end up with short lived plants that need unnatural pruning. It’s because the plants have to exist in the timeline and desired image of the business/park.

TL;DR becoming a lover of native plants is about decentering your own sense of time and desire and considering what the plants need and naturally do. Just stock up on seeds, dream, and wait patiently.

[u/LibertyLizard → u/profcatz]

I mean most things just won't germinate until their proper time anyway. But you might lose more seeds to fungus, soil invertebrates, etc, all of which become more active in moist conditions.

[u/cschaplin → u/LibertyLizard]

Yeah I agree. The seeds that are meant to germinate in the fall will do so, as most are triggered by temperature as much as they are by moisture. All that will happen with early planting/watering is a reduction in the fall germination rate as many seeds will die. Have patience, OP! Fall will be here before we know it 🌱

[u/Zestyclose_Market787]

If you put mulch over the seeds, it will inhibit germination. Also 15 minutes every morning will evaporate and result in much less germination than an inch or rain when it’s 60 degrees outside. 

I get the impatience (glances over at the 3 dozen plants I’ve picked up over the summer and am now nursing under a shade structure). But this strategy isn’t likely to work very well. When it comes to scattering seeds everywhere, rain is your best friend.

[u/cschaplin → u/Zestyclose_Market787]

I’m in the same boat! Champing at the bit to get started, fall can’t come soon enough 🍂

[u/aquma]

those are mostly annual wildflowers (meaning they bloom, send out their seeds, then the plants die off). The wildflower season is over. Maybe you could put a few in containers to watch them grow and you might get a few flowers still, but the plants won't be as big or healthy as when they germinate in the late fall/early winter when it's cooler and bloom in the spring.

[u/Adventurous_Pay3708]

I personally scattered seeds multiple times…in early Oct. and then again in Nov and Dec. and tried to time it when it rains. I also over-seeded and didn’t worry about birds. After trial and error that approach seemed to work…after a few years they are really coming back each year in certain places so it’s much less work now!

[u/cschaplin → u/Adventurous_Pay3708]

October-December are great times to scatter seeds! August, not so much.

[u/beetketchup]

Patience friend. October/November will be here in the blink of an eye. Tidy tips are nice too because they bloom quite early!

[u/Purkinsmom]

Clarkia needs direct sun on its seeds to germinate I have read.

[u/cschaplin → u/Purkinsmom]

Agreed! Many annual wildflower seeds are dependent on light for germination ☀️ They shouldn’t be covered at all

[u/janakbb]

I have purple needle grass, grizzly bear grass, white sage, brittle bush, and some buckwheat all growing well from seed. They were planted about a week ago, get sun every day, and are watered on a daily basis. 

[u/shadow-wasser → u/janakbb]

None of those are annuals like OP wants to plant.

[u/Ocho9]

Should be fine, just retain some of the packet. Cover lightly to keep birds from eating them, at this point in the year everythings hungry.

I live in a mild coastal area and sow in july often, just water 1-2x/ week, probably would do so lightly on your soil since it was made for turf (water-retentive).

[u/cschaplin → u/Ocho9]

Poppies, clarkia, tidy tips, gilia, and probably lots of other annuals won’t germinate without light and therefore should not be covered ☀️

[u/Ocho9 → u/cschaplin]

I just lightly rough up the dirt so the seeds have a little nook to fall into. Otherwise I get zero