We are in central Alabama. This is our first step into no lawns. What you’re seeing here took three years to grow. This was the first time it was really pretty. Or pretty two weeks ago. Now we’ve got some day off, as it is expected. Do I need to snip and save the seed heads? I believe the yellow flowers are called tick seed.
by Midlifemiss
5 Comments
Most tickseed are perrenials, so they’ll be back next year. In somewhere as warm as AL, you might even end up with evergreen tickseed. That being said, it’s fun to save the seeds and trade seeds with other local folks. Tickseed does bloom for a long time, though, so deadheading might get you another round of blooms.
Tickseed can be a short-lived perennial, so I leave the seed heads and just let the seeds land wherever in the fall/winter. I am in zone 6b, and it spreads really well and fills in gaps nicely. I also see birds, especially goldfinches, feeding on the seed heads. They produce a lot of seeds, so feel free to save a few. I believe you would sow the seeds in the winter, though, as they germinate best with some stratification.
In my opinion from NC, i would suggest just saving a few seed heads this fall after they have developed. Then leave the rest to propagate on their own. I have more tickseed that just did their own thing than trying to seed where I want them.
I collect some seeds, and let others fall where they may. This way I’m both letting it spread where it wants, and spreading it where I want it to be. We’re both happy.
That is a coreopsis and I have had tremendous luck collecting seeds and propagating the next season.
My method is wait for flowers to die and start to dry up. I pluck the heads off and put them in an empty plant pot which sits in the garage and then over the winter. In the spring I dump the contents into a big and rough it up a bit to break up the heads and get the seeds. I put them in pots outside where they germinate. I don’t direct sow but I’m certain it will work. They also spread as I find them around. You can slowly develop a field.
I’m in zone 7a with winters.