Planted large meadow this spring and not totally satisfied with results.

I planted the following mix along with sunflowers and some daisy cultivars.

https://www.edenbrothers.com/p...

Followed recommended procedures but only a couple plant species bloomed from the mix as did many sunflowers.
Not a single daisy!

Frustrating as I spent several hundred dollars on seed !

Any thoughts? I live in zone 9(ocala,fl)

One thing I do have is an abundance of grasses and tall weeds which look a bit like cosmos foliage but clearly are not.

Is it common to have large scale failure of seeds and am I better off buying individual species?

I bought this mix as it was specific to the southeast.

I have been told over time the grasses will take over.
So question is "what was the point of this investment in a meadow which seems to have failed?:

I must say the sunflowers are spectacular but only part of the equation

Ok...
Looking at the pictures... most everything looks like annuals.

Baby's Breath (Gypsophila elegans), Dwarf Cornflower/Bachelor Button, Five Spot, Lemon Mint, African Daisy, Sweet Alyssum, Toadflax, Tall Cornflower/Bachelor Button, Red Corn Poppy, Lance Leaf Coreopsis, Mixed Red Poppy Shirley, Wild Cosmos, California Poppy, Blanket Flower, Black Eyed Susan, Wild Perennial Lupine, Purple Coneflower, Russel Lupine, Plains Coreopsis, Siberian Wallflower, Blue Flax, Scarlet Flax, Annual Red Phlox, Bright Lights Cosmos, Gloriosa Daisy

When in the autumn were these planted?

What kind of soil prep was done?

Whether grass crowds out the flowers depends on the types of grass in the plot.

The perennials may yet produce flowers next year.

pictures of the meadow would help.

Edit:
Reread your post...
If you didn't plant in the Autumn... you missed the most important part of the growing season for most of these plants.

Many of them could well have come up and grown a bit only to die with the warmer temps.

stone said:
Ok...
Looking at the pictures... most everything looks like annuals.


When in the autumn were these planted?


What kind of soil prep was done?

Whether grass crowds out the flowers depends on the types of grass in the plot.

The perennials may yet produce flowers next year.

pictures of the meadow would help.

Edit:
Reread your post...
If you didn't plant in the Autumn... you missed the most important part of the growing season for most of these plants.

Many of them could well have come up and grown a bit only to die with the warmer temps.

Planted in early spring. Soil prep was to remove all existing grasses/weeds and level with drag. Waited about 2 weeks before sowing seed to see if any weeds or grasses popped up. Some did and I pulled by hand.

I just read an interesting article which suggests planting only perennials and mowing to 6 inches every few weeks the first season to keep weeds from producing seeds. I imagine at this height it allows the perennials a chance to develop strong root system.

https://lweanerassociates.com/...

From the above referenced article: "By mowing the meadow every 6 weeks to a height of 4-6″, you will not only prevent the annual weeds from seeding, but insure that the young perennial plants growing below your mow height receive enough light for strong establishment. These perennials will emerge the following year far stronger than if they had been buried under 4 feet of annual foliage the first year. This is why the inclusion of annual wildflowers in your seed mix can be detrimental to the long term health of the planting. Annual wildflowers are included for their ability to bloom the first year. In order for this to occur you will be prohibited from mowing, this will allow annual weeds to go unchecked and deprive the emerging perennials of the light needed for optimal growth."



My soil is sandy and fairly nutrient deficient which as I understand is preferable for wildflowers.

As for mowing every 4-6 weeks to keep weeds down the most prevelent weed I have is florida pusley which is low growing and spreads like a carpet so I do not see where frequent mowing will help. One picture shows the Florida pusley, also known as florida snow and as you can see it forms a dense mat so I do not see how even perennials could get a foothold. i suppose I could purchase rooted wildflowers and plant in clusters as they are already are "established".

Not sure how to deal with the pusley as it sends out tons of seed every year
Sure I could start from scratch and solarize the entire half acre but that is a lot of plastic and quite an expense.

Any suggestions are appreciated.



Full disclosure: Over a few weeks the pusley was growing so fast that I just could not keep up with it's eradication via hand pulling.

I got some bulbs and root cuttings from a reputable company, and a lot did not come up either. I dont think there is a way to guarentee that seed or anything will bloom. Did you contact the company you bought from, to let them know that they didnt produce? Are they willing to replace it, if they guarentee their product?

RootedInDirt said: I got some bulbs and root cuttings from a reputable company, and a lot did not come up either. I dont think there is a way to guarentee that seed or anything will bloom. Did you contact the company you bought from, to let them know that they didnt produce? Are they willing to replace it, if they guarentee their product?

Good point! As you can see from their webpage they DO NOT guarantee germination.

"That said, we can make no explicit guarantees or allowances for circumstances over which we have no control. Bad weather, poor timing, and human error can all lead to unanticipated and unsatisfactory results. As all experienced gardeners are aware, Mother Nature does not guarantee perfection, and neither can we. What we can, and do promise, however, is that the products you purchase from us will be of the highest quality to be found anywhere."

drjay44 said: Planted in early spring. Soil prep was to remove all existing grasses/weeds and level with drag. Waited about 2 weeks before sowing seed to see if any weeds or grasses popped up. Some did and I pulled by hand.

I just read an interesting article which suggests planting only perennials and mowing to 6 inches every few weeks the first season to keep weeds from producing seeds. I imagine at this height it allows the perennials a chance to develop strong root system.

My soil is sandy and fairly nutrient deficient

Ok...
I visited your link.
Those recommendations were from the Northeast!

You aren't going to be successful gardening in Florida by following recommendations for Yankee gardening.

If you want to achieve good results... You must garden the way that local gardeners get the results that you are hoping for.

So... no Spring planting.

When I was looking at the flower pictures... I saw poppies...
Planting those in the Spring?
Guaranteed failure.

Come back and discuss the blogs posts that are closer to your conditions...

I couldn't grow shux if I tried to garden the way they do in upstate New York... And you are even further south!

stone said: Ok...
I visited your link.
Those recommendations were from the Northeast!

You aren't going to be successful gardening in Florida by following recommendations for Yankee gardening.

If you want to achieve good results... You must garden the way that local gardeners get the results that you are hoping for.

So... no Spring planting.

When I was looking at the flower pictures... I saw poppies...
Planting those in the Spring?
Guaranteed failure.

Come back and discuss the blogs posts that are closer to your conditions...

I couldn't grow shux if I tried to garden the way they do in upstate New York... And you are even further south!

I ordered southeast mix from Eden Bros.
Followed instructions which stated plant spring OR fall.

As far as the article I referenced I believe the suggestion to plant only perennials would be valid regardless of location
I may be mistaken ?

I have methods that work at my house.
I'm near you. I'm gardening on top of 200 foot of white sand.

If you would rather ignore my experience, and listen to people that garden in the north east where the conditions are completely different...

Well, I can't stop you.

I would not garden like that at my house.

stone said: I have methods that work at my house.
I'm near you. I'm gardening on top of 200 foot of white sand.

If you would rather ignore my experience, and listen to people that garden in the north east where the conditions are completely different...

Well, I can't stop you.

I would not garden like that at my house.

I appreciate your advice
Thank you

I respectfully disagree/ agree that the idea of mowing perennials seems like a valid practice in either zone. Now, how to mow at 4-6 inches - will need a whole different mower?

I read some of these wildflower meadow help threads and can only use general gardening knowledge to suggest. May or may not be the best advice, but I'm trying

I think if I was trying to convert to a meadow, I would be planting the perennials and using heavy mulch to control the annual weeds, Later maybe try drifts of select annuals in limited areas I can tend. I think the annuals could self sow later on top of the mulch as it breaks down. Of course, you could have blown in weeds and breakthroguh from below then too.

My library installed perennials including mountain mint a very spreading one. The tiny starts were planted with lots of mulch. They've filled in well in 2-3 years.

Sorry about the failed seed, how disappointing and expensive!

Ok... just as an example... I took this picture this morning of a small patch of echinacea seedlings...

I dropped the seed last autumn... fixing to bloom ...

Mow, and lose the flowers. Wait until spring to sow the seeds... the seeds wouldn't have germinated.

What's needed for successful wildflowers is more specific knowledge about the plants and the local growing conditions.

looking for hacks that avoid the necessity of learning about the plants?
seems like a waste of time and effort.

stone said: Ok... just as an example... I took this picture this morning of a small patch of echinacea seedlings...

I dropped the seed last autumn... fixing to bloom ...

Mow, and lose the flowers. Wait until spring to sow the seeds... the seeds wouldn't have germinated.

What's needed for successful wildflowers is more specific knowledge about the plants and the local growing conditions.

looking for hacks that avoid the necessity of learning about the plants?
seems like a waste of time and effort.

To the contrary:
I am trying to learn as much as I can, hence that is why I joined the forum.

Ok...
Maybe start by finding blogs from gardeners near you...

Most wildflower seeds are best planted or scattered in fall. Some might do okay later, but germination is always dependant on a lot of things, including weather. I've had difficulty during drought years especially here, since my area is a bit arid compared with the eastern states. Some species are partly parasitic and need to be planted near certain other species. Prairie Paintbrush is one I'd like to introduce on my place, but don't know if I have enough compatible species. I've seen them in another area and they are so beautiful!