Are most perennials planted by seeds?

I am new to gardening but would like to grow stuff I see in my garden book like candy tuft or astilbe, or alyssum or foam flower, or shasta daisies, etc.





I am new to this. do you just buy seeds for these at Wal-Mart or something and just throw them out like Zinnia seeds or something??

Are most perennials planted by seeds?
You can plant them from seeds, it will take much longer for them to establish (a full year or two), generally they are propegeted by root division. Usually a large established clump is dug up and divided into many smaller clumps, best done in the fall. Usually root divisions will bloom the first year.
Reply:I've started getting into flowers the past few years. It depends a lot on where you live -- what zone is it? I live in a very cold climate (zone 4), so what works for me may not work for you. I'd go to the library and check out some old gardening mags if I were you. Fine Gardening by Taunton Press is good, and so is the old Organic Gardening -- I'm thinking the early to mid 90s.





Alyssum I would grow from seed, but in little pots that I'd set by a sunny window. I'd put them in the dirt about the middle of March so they'd be ready for the garden in the middle of May. They self-seed I hear, but I've not had much luck with that. Alyssum is an annual, BTW.





Shasta daisies, if I remember right, are easy to divide. They spread by growing through the roots, so find a gardener who has them, and ask if you can dig up a scoop of the daisies. (-: They tend to take over a garden if you are not careful.





You can find gardening brochures for your area at your County Extension Agent. If you have a big/rich county, they may even be on-line.





Throwing out seeds sometimes works (I have done this with poppies), but I often find the weeds take over. Starting seeds in little pots gives them some strength so they can fight the weeds. Also, you get a good chance to see what the babies look like, so you don't accidentally weed them if they self-seed next year.





Good luck!
Reply:go and buy the plants when they are available, most things are not all that easy to raise from seed, though shasta daisies, zinnia and marigold are easy. you need to weed the area, rake the soil till its very fine, make a row with a stick and drop your seeds in a couple of inches apart, then cover with a thin layer of soil. some seeds need to be deep, some need to be on top of the soil, so its much easier to plant the plants.
Reply:I bought "mixed wild flowers" last year in a package at Walmart. Followed the directions on the package. On the package there is a picture of short %26amp; tall flowers of all different colours. They are perenials. They were the most colourful beautiful flowers I ever had. I planted them closer a bit than directions on package so the wind couldn't blow them over. Shop early planting date is on package. I plant all perenials by seed. You can bye then already planted to transplant.

loops