List of first year blooming perennials ??

I'm curious if there is a list somewhere of perennials that will bloom the first year.

Or, i guess if you know of any, just rattle them off ....

I'm one of those who wants instant gratification. :-D

TIA,

Terese

a few:
Rudbeckia - short lived perennial
Lupine
Echinacea
Gaillardia
Heliopsis
Salvia - some like S. transylvania
Dianthus v- some like D. amurensis 'Siberian Blues'
Scullcap
Beardtongue
Asclepias

I WS'ed purple Echinacea last year, and i was under the impression that its a second year bloomer, but 1 did bloom for me.

is beardtongue the same as Penstemon? if so, i have that Husker Red, and that didnt bloom either.

Gaillardia == ah, ok, i thought this was an annual.

another question -- "short lived perennial" generally, how long is that? 2 yrs, 5 yrs? or does it vary like many things really seem to vary with different plants?

My wintersown Agastache and Platycodon 'Fairy Snow' bloomed the first year. I've also had Shasta daisies bloom the first year when started early.

Hi Terese!
Yeah, short-lived will vary with different plants. Some will last longer than others, some are ok for reseeding...rudbeckia is great for that so you should always have some around once you get them going.

Bev

The short lived seem to vary by how much they bloom,and the weather.
I have noticed some put on the best show of their life the year they die, most of them reseed well. example columbine and foxglove.

I started Gaillardia from seed this past year and it went crazy! It should be a perennial, that is why I planted it. I also started snow-in-summer. That did not bloom, but it grew very well. I am not much help sorry.

This month's Garden Gate magazine had a short list of ones that they say will bloom first year from seed. They said if you get these started in January they'll bloom for you by July.
Agastache hybrids
Rudbeckia hybrids
Gaillardia x grandiflora
Echinacea purpurea
Coreopsis hybrids
Hibiscus moscheutos
Centaurea montana
Dianthus species
Salvia hybrids
Leucanthemum x superbum

thanks for that list.

Hmmm, i have not had luck with Dianthus. i know mine did not bloom.
my echinacea purpurea -- i had a lot of seeds germinate into lil plants, but i only got 1 bloom.

I'll keep looking for others.

thanks for what is listed so far.

Terese

Did you start them early enough? Based on what the magazine said, you need to start them in January, if you start later than that then they might not bloom the 1st year.

i think i began WS'ing in early Feb. so a few weeks would make that difference??

I think i have more seeds ... I'll start them earlier this year then.
and i guess another question would be ... they would still germinate around the same time then,
so how would that effect the blooming? Or would they actually germinate earlier?? [i'l have to check my notes on them]

Sowing them a month earlier could make a difference, there are probably some perennials that are sort of borderline on whether they're going to get around to blooming the first year or not and giving them an extra month headstart could help. If you're wintersowing I think they do germinate earlier, that's why you have the milk cartons or whatever over top of them so that the area right around the seeds is warmer and the seedlings don't get damaged by the cold. I don't wintersow though so I don't know this for sure; if they don't germinate earlier then you'd want to start them inside instead, then they for sure germinate sooner..

gotcha!! thanks. I think i may ask the WS'ers what their take is on the Echinacea purpurea.

My echineacea that self seed never bloom the first year, so don't know if sowing them early will help, but certainly won't hurt. For me, they are true 3rd year leapers, if you know what I mean.

I read the Garden Gate article differently. I thought they were talking about indoor sowing to get blooms the first year. Hmmm, I'll have to read it again! c4

All they said was that you start the seeds in January, they didn't specify where to start them. For some plants in some zones that will mean starting them indoors, but some may also work for wintersowing if you can start WS'd seeds in January (I don't wintersow so I don't know anything about that). But if you don't start the seeds as early as they said, you're much less likely to see blooms your first year.

I did a quick google tonight on "first year blooming perennials" and found this site
http://www.robsplants.com/plants/fastperennials.php

the guy commented that he starts them indoors in Dec/Jan time frame
and also commented that most will not bloom first year if WS'ed.

tcs, this link from Bordine nurseries is one of the most comprehensive lists I've seen. There's a number of charts that are helpful too regarding bloom time, color etc. http://www.bordines.com/Care_Sheets/PDF_Care_Sheets/Perennials_BloomTime.pdf

Great list. Thank you.

Thanx for the link Cordel......I plan to work on adding late summer bloomers this year and this will help a lot.

Here's another list that I just stumbled across. Hopefully, there are some different ones listed. If they are listed twice, then you know you have a winner!

http://www.dianeseeds.com/flowers/first-year-perennials.html

thanks penne .... and i only have 2 on that list... guess i need to look for more seeds.

the coreopsis grandiflora [early sunrise] is now one of my favorites!! cute and bright flowers and easy to gather seeds in the fall.

Bump.

It's that time again.

thanks Penne....

I just love Bee Balm and this new one really caught my eye this year. (PR9550 BERGAMO BEE BALM SEEDS
Monarda Citriodora-Hybr.) http://swallowtailgardenseeds.com/perennials/beebalmper.html


They are so easy to grow and sooooo pretty. Can't wait to grow this one.
Pam

in my garden:
Scabiosa columbaria and Russian sage
and lots of the ones already mentioned bloomed the first year

Bee Balm for me, is a second year bloomer. *sniff*
Pam -- that new one is gorgeous!!

I think i got seeds [in a swap] for the "Mix" they sure are pretty.

and i did get yellow and a blue Scabiosa ... so i'll get those going too. I already have White.

First year all-star bloomers for me:

Agastache rugosa, purple giant hyssop
Cheiranthus, wallflower -English Mix
Eupatorium rugosum , white snakeroot
Geranium pyrenaicum, hedgerow cranesbill -white form (Love this; it's like baby's breath for the shade.)
Polemonium pauciflorum, yellow jacob's ladder
Salvia subrotunda, hummingbird sage
Scabiosa ochroleuca, yellow scabiosa

Pamela,

Swallowtail gardens also carries a couple of lavenders that flower the first year.

http://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/perennials/lavender.html

The lavenders are gorgeous. I have a regular lavender and a Ribbon Spanish now. They have done real well. I might be tempted by the 2 new ones shown.

This message was edited Feb 5, 2009 6:29 AM

I had chrysanthemum 'gold stick' bloom the first year for me.

All of the delphinium grandiflorum (dwarf varieties) that I've seen are supposed to bloom the 1st year.

i found some Delphinium seeds that say OLD. got them in last years trade. Attempted to WS some and got no germination. Gonna try again this year.

tcs, I seem to remember from the piggy swap that we weren't supposed to send any old larkspur seeds because they don't stay viable that long, so I think that would include all delphiniums, so maybe you shouldn't bother wasting your time on the old ones.

this was from Feb of 2008 Piggy swap... and they did say OLD.
I have some that i put on a window sill [southern exp] and the rest WS. we shall see if anything pops.

According to my American Garden Book, here's a list of some perennials blooming first year from seed sown in spring:

buphthalmum salicifolium (Willow-leave Ox-Eye)
Campanula carpatica (Carpathian Harebell)
C. carpatica alba
C. rotundifolia
Centaurea montana (Mountain Bluet)
Chrysanthemum maximum (Shasta Daisy)
Delphinium formosum (Formosa Delphinium)
D. grandiflorum (Siberian Delphinium)
Dianthus plumarius (Garden Pink)
Erigeron Coulteri (Large White Mountain Daisy)
E. glabellus (Rough Erigeron)
Gaillardia aristata [grandiflora](Blanket flower)
Geum atrosanguineum (Crimson Avens)
Inula ensifolia (Swordleaf Inula)
Linaria dalmatica (Dalmatian Toadflax)
Papaver nudicaule (Iceland Poppy)
Penstemon campanulatus (Bell-flowered Penstemon)
Salvia farniacea (Mealycup Sage)

I used to sow perennials 2x a year---spring and fall. The reason was lack of space in my coldframe.

The second sowing was in August. When large enough, I transfer them into my coldframe to winter over. By spring, these plants were husky with a good root system and bloomed during their usual blooming period if transplanted to permanent location as soon as growth begins during spring.

The first sowing I did according to the size of the seeds, starting in January. The smaller the seed, the longer it takes to reach transplanting size. When large enough, they went into my coldframe over summer. As the continue to grow in size, I transplant them to their permanent location. Some remain in the coldframe until fall. These bloomed the following season at their usual time.

CAPTON: My first coldframe made from railroad ties. A lath cover gave shade. These plants were sown in August. The photo was taken the following May just prior to transplanting to permanet location. Location was Western Nebraska, which is a bit warmer than Wyoming where I now live.