Favorite Warm Season Flowers to Start From Seed

Showy and Easy Flowers to Plant from Seed

I planted warm season flower seeds in six packs this weekend!  In about a week I’ll have dozens of baby plants and in 4-6 weeks or so they’ll be ready to be transplanted into the garden.

Why Plant from Seed?

The main reason I plant from seed, is that I like to have taller varieties of flowers for cutting.  Most of the flowers sold at nurseries and garden centers are shorter because growers want varieties that bloom in the six packs to encourage sales.  While these look lovely in pots and flower beds, I love to have cut flowers in the house and for this you need taller flowers with longer stems.

I also like to choose specific colors for my garden, and many flowers sold at garden centers come in ‘mixed’ six packs.

Another reason to plant from seed is you get so much more bang for your buck!  A six pack of plants costs around $3.  A packet of seeds costs about the same but, depending on the number of seeds in the packet, will provide 3 to 10 times the number of plants!

And finally, it’s so fun and rewarding to grow plants from seed!  There’s something magical about watching the seedlings emerge from the soil.  Then later, when the garden is in full bloom, it’s very satisfying to know you grew those flowers from seed.  Check out this video for how to start seeds indoors.

 

My Favorite EASY Warm Season Flowers

Easy Warm Season Flowers to Start from Seed

	Cosmos	Tall varieties: Bright Lights, Sensation, Psyche	Colors: orange/yellow (Bright Lights), white, pink (others)
	Marigolds	Tall varieties: Lady, Antigua, Discovery, Sunset Giant	Colors: Yellow, gold, orange, mahogany and bicolors
	Rudbeckia (also know as Black Eyed Susan)	Tall varieties: Goldsturm, Indian Summer, Prairie Sun	Colors: Gold, yellow
	Sunflower	Varieties for cutting: Lemon Queen, Soraya, Sunrich	Colors: Yellow and orange
	Zinnia	Tall varieties: Benary's Giant, Purple Prince, Oklahoma, Cut and Come Again, Envy (green)	Colors: All except blue