Let’s Get Growing! – Native Plant Seeds

A plant with green leaves and brown seeds lying on pavement.
Seeds collected in late summer from native New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis) can be sown in the winter. January 14, 2025
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Let’s Get Growing! Native Plant Seeds 

New Year, new garden plans? If you’re looking to expand on a RainScapes garden this year or simply want to increase the plant diversity in your yard, one way to do so is by adding native plants grown from seeds. And seed-starting can begin now! Yes, in January, you can plant seeds for beautiful perennial native plants such as Lyre-leaf Sage (Salvia lyrata), Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), White Wood Aster (Eurybia divaricata), Golden Groundsel (Packera aurea), New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis), and more.

 

Seeds can be sown in containers outdoors using a technique called “winter sowing.” Some seeds need exposure to cold temperatures for a period of time in order to break out of dormancy and germinate. This is called cold stratification. If you start these seeds now, you’ll be on track to have young plants ready to add to your garden in the spring.

Water jugs sitting outside on the ground filled with soil and seeds.

Reuse water jugs to sow native seeds outdoors in the winter.

Take a look at the University of Maryland Extension’s page about Collecting and Sowing Native Plant Seed to learn about this process and some of the native seeds you can start planting now. A list of native seed sources is provided in the resources section. 

Also, save the date! Brookside Gardens in Wheaton is hosting the 20th Annual Washington Gardener Seed Exchange on January 25, 2025.  This is a great opportunity to find and share seeds of all kinds and learn about gardening with seeds.