The pros and cons of self seeding plants

Self seeding plants

This summer I've noticed several self seeding plants popping up in the garden at home and at work.

Self seeding weeds

In some cases self seeding plants are seen as a nuisance. The definition of a weed is 'a plant out of place'. This means anything that self seeds that you think of as being a nuisance can be classified as a weed. The trick to managing self seeding weeds it to remove them before they grow seed thereby eliminating their method of reproduction (easier said than done). Examples of notorious self seeding weeds are dandelions, plantains, clover and many others.

Desirable self seeding plants

If a self seeding plant that has miraculously grown all by itself is desirable then there is nothing more magical than watching a plant you love materializing all own its own. One of the best things about a desirable self seeder (apart from the fact that you have had to do nothing to grow it) is that they are sometimes superior to plants you have sown yourself.

Examples of desirable self seeding plants

One example of this is an echinacea plant that sowed itself at my work garden. The funny thing is that we were trying to grow this particular form of echinacea but it only grew very small. We couldn't keep the poor little thing alive and forgot all about it. The next season a massive Echinacea plant sprouted up less than one metre away from the original one on the opposite side of a path that separates the two locations. The self sown plant is huge (almost twice the size of the original). Another example is a massive sunflower that self seeded also at work. It has to be the biggest sunflower that I've ever seen. The plant grew without any help whatsoever and the single flower head was huge (see the picture below). The other very popular example of self seeding is that of self seeding edible plants (parsley, chives, chard, lettuce and many others).

Annual flowers are by nature great self seeders. Annuals (lasting only one year) obviously need to be good self seeders to keep propagating themselves. Annuals I have at home that have done this include amaranthus, pansies, sunflowers and hollyhocks. Hopefully next year I can add poppies and calendula to that list.

This is the seed head from the self seeded sunflower. Unfortunately it was in bloom when I was on leave from work so I couldn't get a picture of it in its full glory. I'll save all those seeds and plant them at home next spring.

Amaranthus that grew itself in my home garden. Note all the annuals in the background that I've purposely left to run to seed. They should add to next years warm season annual display.

Below is the humble pansy. These little troopers keep reproducing themselves year after year. Heaps of them sprouted in my annual bed of my Macedon home last spring.

Tiger flowers (not Tigerlilies) Tigridias and Sunflowers at their peak

I was shown this beautiful Tigridia at the Parkville garden this week. It goes by the common names of Tiger flower or Shell flower. It does share some attributes with the Tigerlily they are from different families (Tigerlilies are from the Liliaceae family and Tiger flowers are from the Iridaceae family).  Like the Tigerlily its flowers are relatively short lived and are replaced by new ones which enables it to remain flower for a longer period of time. It is native to central American countries and its roots are reputed to have been cultivated for food by the Aztecs. I'm not sure of the species of this particular specimen but using google I've found that Tigridias come in a variety of colours. I certainly would love to plant some at home but I'll have to research whether the climate will permit it. The one shown below was buried amongst the Hydrageas in the central courtyard bed in Parkville. So it is growing in part shade.

Lastly the Sunflowers I planted in Parkville are now in full bloom. All Ten varieties were successful and the ones at home in Macedon are also starting to flower. My mission for next seasons Sunflowers will be to plant out twice as many and plant them in various locations in the Parkville garden. Also I will mix them up rather than segregating them into their different groups. The Giant Russian Sunflowers are huge (approximately 2.3 metres high).

Lillies, Echinacea and Sunflowers

I took some pictures of flowers in bloom in the Parkville garden. We have had some very hot weather there lately (almost 40 degrees Celsius). Things alive and well due to lots of watering. My precious sunflowers have all survived the heat and are doing well.

Echinacea (coneflowers) are in bloom and are a magnificent sight. I'm definitely planting some of these at home in the future. I especially like the coloured ones but even these white ones are amazing when flowering.

Below are pictures of the first sunflowers to burst open. Many more to come.

Lastly is a double Oriental Lily.  Eighty percent of the time I'm not a fan of double flowers. I tend to always think of their single cousins as an example of what they are supposed to look like. I'd never seen these before and actually prefer them over the singles.

Parkville garden last post for 2012

Last entry for the Parkville garden 2012. It's now the height of summer and we have often been watering different areas in an attempt to keep them green. I planted new annuals in the front bed then 2 days later we had a day where the temperature reached 36C. The seedlings suffered but survived and with luck they should be looking good in a months time. At the moment they are a bit shrivelled. The garden is dotted with Jacaranda trees. I didn't know what these looked like in flower and was surprised to see their masses of purple flowers. Driving home after work I can see patches of Jacaranda tree purple in the Strathmore hills and it makes me wish I could grow them at home but I suspect it may be too cold for them to thrive.

One of our Jacarandas (the largest one)



The sorry looking annuals. There are 4 rows of Marigolds and 2 rows of Celosias at the back. About 1 fifth of the Celosias died in the heat. We also finally put in some climbers which will be trained up the wall on the cables.

The Sunflower bed is looking fantastic. I've been putting lots of love into this particular section. I've mulched them with mushroom compost and have watered them regularly. It seems to be paying off with nearly all surviving and thriving. The only casualties were due to slug damage (but I took care of them with some snail bait). I also transplanted 4 tomato plants amongst the sunflowers (2 in the wooden cages and 2 against the wall). 

Last of all for 2012 is this Begonia flower. When I first started working at Parkville I didn't care for them but I have taken a real shining to these plants. I progagated several from the plants in Parkville and have them at home in Macedon now. They have such a wonderfully varied range of foliage between the different species.

What's in the Macedon garden December 2012?

Summer update on my garden in Macedon. The lawn has lost its green lustre and is now a shade of straw which although unsightly means I don't have to mow as often, thank god! I planted lots of annuals and had mixed success with them. Lots were taken out by my own chickens when they were seedlings. I really did the annuals on the cheap and they were all the bargain basement seedlings from the local nursery (not that the nursery has a basement). The pansies however, were all from seed. I refer to them as my Grandma annuals because they are the old fashion favorite annuals and quite common. I bought half a metre of mushroom compost and dug it through some really poor soil to rejuvenate it and spread the rest as a mulch. The plants have really responded to it so I will definitely do it again next year.

The Marigolds took quite a hammering from the chickens and only a few survived.

The Snapdragons were untouched by both chicken and snail and all survived and thrived as the one below.

Below is the giant Ullswater blue pansy

Blackjack pansies.

My pride and joy this year giant Hollyhocks. I've been on a mission to grow these for a couple of years and have failed until this year. Even this lot has come close to being lost. First they contracted celery mosaic virus and had to be nursed back to health so they adapted and managed to overcome the symptoms of the virus. Secondly they came under attack from cabbage butterfly caterpillars (which I had to spray to clear). Thirdly they were smashed by really strong winds one night and a couple were on the ground the next day. I had to stake the wind damaged ones but they are looking good now. They haven't flowered yet but look ready to pop. I'll get some more photos when they bloom.

Awww a small Hollyhock bud.

This perennial is a Kniphofia (unsure of the species though). Its now much to look at now but it has a wonderful flower head in winter. It goes by the common name of 'red hot poker'. I propagated this by division last autumn and it looks ready to flower next winter.

Hydrangea macrophylla is an old fashioned favorite. These existed on the property when we bought it. They are an extremely common plant here in Victoria but i can't bring myself to get rid of them. I must have the acidic (low PH) soil here as the flowers are always blue.

My daughter planted these Impatiens and as with all the things she plants they have somehow thrived even with minimal intervention.

Below are some blueberries from my only blueberry bush. There seem to be lots on the bush this year so if the birds don't get to them I should harvest enough for a couple of punnets.

The ever reliable chives

The broadbeans have been really successful. They are nearing the end now but I've harvest heaps. Almost every day I pick some and eat them raw.

One of six sunflower seedlings. Fingers crossed some will grow to maturity. The bloody snails love these things.

Plants in the Parkville garden December 2012

I shot some quick pictures in the Parkville garden today after work. It's now Summer but my days are still mostly involved with cutting things back on top of the regular maintenance work such as the lawns and weeding. I planted out over 100 Sunflower seedlings which comprise of 10 different varieties. The ones I've planted at home over the years always ended up eaten by slugs but with over 100 now in the ground and snail bait sprinkled amongst them, I'm guessing more than a few will survive to bloom.

We have lots of different coloured Streptocarpus plants in pots. I'm not a huge fan of Streptocarpus when they are not in flower but when they are in flower they sure are pretty.

Below is one of our Oriental Lilies. We have Two other types but their flowers are spent for the year. Our Asiatic Lilies still haven't bloomed but they look close.

Next are Two types of Daylilies. The term Daylily is the common name for plants of the genus Hemerocallis. As the name suggest the flowers typically only last a day but new flowers appear the day after. They are perennial plants and different species provide different colours and sizes of flowers. You can see the orange Daylily below is already starting to wither (I took that photograph at 3pm). The yellow Daylily is of the cultivar 'corky' and is only half the size of the orange one.

Lastly is Hydrangea quercifolia which is known by the common name of Oakleaf Hydranfea. When was informed that this plant was infact a Hydrangea I was surprised as I was only familiar with Hydrangea macrophylla. It is a perennial plant that sprouts from stolons. It is native to South Eastern USA. I think it is a much more interesting specimin than macrophylla which is very common here in Melbourne.