I love Self-sowers (lawn, crabgrass, tomatoes, front yard)
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Be careful of all self sowers as they can really get out of hand. That's why I don't like to mix herbs with perennials. Also Morning Glory can rapidly take over ut I do love the flowers. I think there are now some varieties which aren't quite as invasive but I have no experience with them.
I usually like to collect seeds of self sowers and label them to use the next year. Even with that I always miss some and the birds can spread them everywhere.
All those self-sowers Tina mentioned are one-and-done in my yard.
Even perennials that everyone claims to be sooooo invasive are not, in my yard - like the Chameleon Plant (Houttuynia cordata)! It stays put, and is about 20 square feet year after year after year.
All those self-sowers Tina mentioned are one-and-done in my yard.
Even perennials that everyone claims to be sooooo invasive are not, in my yard - like the Chameleon Plant (Houttuynia cordata)! It stays put, and is about 20 square feet year after year after year.
I'll bet that's because we're so much further south, Pitt Chick. I had Boltonias up in Chicago and I deadheaded them every year, but not before they dropped at least some seeds, and I never saw a Boltonia volunteer the following season. In Kansas, they're worse than crabgrass. But portulacas always came up in Chicago, always between the patio pavers, and that was adorable.
I'm SOOOOOO jealous!! I don't usually get too many, and had only one this year, trollius chinensis came up in a paving stone and looks identical to the original.
I usually got at least 3 beautiful clusters of rudbeckia hirta, and this year none.
Also surprised that calendula doesn't reseed like crazy on my property here, whereas a couple of hours north, at my last house, it was very weedy and the seedlings would actually form a solid mat of green. Same with snapdragons.
Me too! I rely so much on self-sowers. My favorites:
Snapdragons
Portulaca
Garden balsam
Moss verbena
Love-in-a-mist
Zinnias
Datura (millions, unfortunately)
Boltonia (beautiful but horribly invasive if you don't deadhead them).
I bought a few snapdragons about 10 years ago ... now I have to pull the 'new' growths every year because they are all over my front yard ... including in the lawn and rocks ... every place I don't want them to be
I remembered another. Annual vinca reseeded for me last year, and I was thrilled. I had hundreds of plants to move around. This year -- nothing, even though I left the plants in place until late winter. I figure the winter before last was warm enough, but this past winter wasn't.
Also, Chinese forget-me-nots are up and blooming in odd places right now. They're gorgeous.
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