Higgledy Garden
  • About Higgledy Garden
  • The Higgledy Garden Shop
  • Ben’s Blog
  • Growing Guides
  • Seed Sowing Guide
  •  
0
Your cart is empty. Go to Shop.

‘Which Annual Flowers Can I Sow In Early Spring Mr Higgledy?’

Some April sown hardy annuals...cornflowers, calendula and borage.
Some April sown hardy annuals…cornflowers, calendula and borage.

A good ninety percent of my cut flower gardens are made up entirely of annual flowers….annuals are the flowery shire horses of the Higgledy Kingdom. I look upon annuals as being in two groups….hardy and half hardy (some folk also include tender annuals….I tuck tender annuals up with their chums half hardy annuals. Hardy annuals can take a frost and as such they can be sown in Autumn as well as Spring….and when they are sown in spring they can be sown before the frosts have finished. For most of England the last frost date is mid May….later further north…earlier further south and west.

When To Direct Sow (into the soil) Hardy Annuals.

Spring sowing...a three foot wide bed with three rows a foot apart....CLASSIC! ;)
Spring sowing…a three foot wide bed with three rows a foot apart….CLASSIC! ;)

I have spoken to dozens of commercial flower growers up and down the country and each has a different view on when to sow hardy annuals….ranging from early March until late April. Something worth bearing in mind here is that commercial growers NEED flowers in order to have something to sell….so it is understandable that they will sow at the earliest opportunity. This is not so for most domestic growers and it is my belief that sowing early can make a rod for your back. Your flower seeds will have a considerably better chance of germinating and becoming stronger plants if the soil has started to warm up and there is more sunshine bouncing about in the northern hemisphere.

With this in mind I would suggest not sowing hardy annuals until mid April. At this time the soil should be warm enough to be able to wriggle the seeds into waking up. At this time the native weeds will be coming through too…..if the native weeds aren’t growing….believe me….neither will our more Mediterranean based flower seeds. Sow later than mid April if you live further up country and a little earlier (should you wish) down south.

Larkspur sown in April.
Larkspur sown in April.

…but if I was was to push you in any direction then a later sowing in April will always provide better germination than early April…..AND sowing flower seeds a month early will NOT give you flowers a month earlier….it just doesn’t work like that….later sown flower seeds nearly always catch up.

Hardy annuals that can be direct sown at this time include:

Ammi majus, Ammi Visnaga, Cornflowers, Calendula, Corncockle, Salvia viridis, Dill, Gypsophila, Eschscholzia, Cerinthe and Nigella.

Just to confuse the issue….some folk start ALL their flowers off in pots or modules undercover….if you go down this root then you can sow in early April.

When To Sow Half Hardy Annuals.

Some half hardys hanging out at the patch....Cosmos and Rudbeckia...
Some half hardys hanging out at the patch….Cosmos and Rudbeckia…

If you want to sow your Half hardy annuals outdoors then you must wait until the frosts have finished….I prefer to start mine undercover at the beginning of April and then plant them out after the frosts about six weeks later having had acclimatised them to the outside world.

Half Hardy annuals include:

Tithonia, Cosmos, Sunflowers, Cleome, Nasturtiums, Rudbeckia, Didiscus and Craspedia.

Kind regards

Benjamin Higgledy

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
‘The Flower Farmer’s Year’. Georgie Newbury, Sunflower ‘Valentine’.

Fresh posts!

  • How to direct sow (into the soil) a cutting patch of annual flowers.
  • Growing Cosmos from seed. March/April/May.
  • Sowing up a flower field in Suffolk.
  • Guide to sowing/growing the Higgledy Birthday Bundle.
  • HG is raising funds for the UNICEF humanitarian fund for Ukraine.

Sign up for the newsletter!

Once every two months, I send subscribers a discount code or an offer for a heavily discounted bundle of seeds. You won't get inundated with emails... I'm far too lazy for that sort of caper.

Possibly old and musty

  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • July 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • December 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
© Higgledy Garden 2020
site by santa ana limited
Privacy Policy

Join Us

Once every two months, I send subscribers a discount code or an offer for a heavily discounted bundle of seeds. You won't get inundated with emails... I'm far too lazy for that sort of caper.

Join the chat on social media

Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter