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Index : Flowers - Perennials
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- 2. Create Your Own Show of Spring Wild Flowers - Top
The show of spring wildflowers in Arizona is a hit or miss proposition. When they hit, it’s truly spectacular, with poppies and lupines blanketing the slopes in green, gold and purple. When they miss, we all regret another year passing without them. But there’s a way you can have your own little patch of wild flower paradise ‘guaranteed’ every spring! Just start your own this fall from seed!
The key to wildflower success is in the seeding and the watering. Specifically, knowing what types of wildflower seed to buy, how to prepare the seed bed, and how to establish the flowers with proper watering is all that’s required. As far as when to plant, the best time is now through the end of November.
The most successful types of wildflowers are those that grow here naturally. In addition to California and Mexican gold poppies and Arizona lupine, there are desert bluebells, desert globe mallow spreading fleabane desert senna and numerous penstemons. All are relatively easy to grow and are available in single or combination seed packets from local garden centers.
Be sure not to over-plan and over-plant your wildflower beds. Only plant what you can reasonably manage to water and weed on a continuing basis. Better to have a small, well-tended success than a large flop!
Loosen the soil in the area to be planted and incorporate a small amount of organic matter. An inch layer of bagged compost or manure mixed into the top 6 inches of soil will provide a good moisture holding seed base. At the same time, mix in a small amount of ammonium phosphate, bonemeal or other flowering plant food. A cup of ammonium phosphate (16-20-0) of similar analysis fertilizer per 10 square feet will do the job.
Don’t over-work the soil! Leave it somewhat lumpy. Seeds sprout best between the soil cracks and crevices. If you have small rocks and stones in your planting bed, leave them! A favorite place for wildflower seeds to germinate is in the protected environment near rocks.
Some varieties of wildflower seeds are very small and difficult to spread. To make the job easier, mix the seeds with a small volume of sand. Using a cyclone or whirlybird type spreader, you can then evenly spread the sand-seed mix over the bed area. Follow the directions on the packet to determine how much seed to distribute over the size area you are planting.
Lightly rake the seed bed, scratching the seed into the top layer of soil. Moisten the soil, and keep it moist until seeds germinate and seedling plants emerge. When plants are two inches tall or when winter rains begin, water only when the soil dries and the plants begin to show signs of stress, such as dull-colored or wilting leaves.
Keep weeds pulled from your wildflower beds. To help you tell the difference between weeds and wildflower seedlings, start a small flat of wildflower seeds in a tray of potting soil. Grow them to seedling size. With the seedlings in the tray serving as a guide, you can identify the wildflower plants in your beds.
Finally, to protect seedlings from foraging rabbits, it’s advisable to surround the planted area with a chicken wire or woven wire fence. Best results are achieved by using fencing two feet high. Bury the bottom two or three inches in the soil to prevent rabbits from pushing under the fence. Staking will also be necessary to hold the fence upright.
Written by John Begeman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona,
520-626-5161. - Updated: November 11, 2007
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