Succession Planting on a Micro Flower Farm Part 2

What and when to plant!

So you’ve figured out what your zone is and what your last expected frost date is, so now what? (If you missed it you can reference the previous blog post)

First of all let me start off by saying that all of these varieties i’ll be talking about are COOL HARDY ANNUALS. We aren’t talking about heat lovers like zinnias yet. How do you know if they like the cool, flip the seed packet over and see what the recommended planting time/ zone they recommend. My micro flower farm is in zone 6b/7a so I can plant anything from zone 6 and higher.

Side note: If the seed packet does not say which zone it’s hardy to or the suggested planting date try looking them up here or here. You could also buy this book by Lisa Mason Zeigler. It's a great start if you are learning what seeds to sow and when...

My last frost date is April 20th. I know we can get later frosts so I keep my frost cloth handy just in case! I count back 4-6 weeks from April 20th and this is my very early spring planting window time which would be March 9th - March 23rd. As we all know, Mother Nature doesn’t always (ever?) play fair. I keep an eye on those temperatures and pick a week that looks like it’s not going to go below freezing for long. Most of what I plant can take a little frost but not a deep freeze for long periods of time. If you are visiting your local nursery to pick up plants make sure the variety you are choosing is the right height for your needs. There are bedding and cut flower heights within many of the below varieties. Ok, now on to what I’m planting!

Here’s a list of the tried and true items I usually start for transplanting:

Annual Sweet William (fall planted, early spring succession)

French Carnations

Craspedia

Rudbeckia Double Daisy (pic Johnny's Seeds)

Rudbeckia (fall planted, early spring succession)

Campanula (fall planted, early spring succession)

Feverfew (fall planted, early spring succession)

Nigella (fall planted, early spring succession)

Snapdragons (fall planted, early spring succession)

Stock

Saponaria (fall planted, early spring succession)

Chinese for me nots (fall planted, early spring succession)

Bupleurum

Foxglove Camelot Rose (pic Johnny's Seeds)

New for 2023

Foxglove

Borage

Godetia

Mountain Mint

Viola

I have over 75 varieties/ colors! Having this many plants and a micro flower farm means I have to be ruthless with ripping waning successions out and get the next one planted. I also utilize containers, crates, pots, tubs, and feed troughs to maximize my space. Since I am starting all of these from seed I need to again rely on the back of the seed packet or the above websites to know when to start my seed. Newsflash, it involves more counting! If you are interested in a more in depth class about seed starting for yourself, check out The Gardeners Workshop. Lisa has some great classes to offer and they can set you up for success no matter what level you are at.

Happy growing!