A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Plants and Flowers Forum quick flowers from seeds?

I'd like to throw some seeds around my beds to fill in spaces - what are some fast growers? Cosmos, zinnias, maybe johnny jump ups?

zinnia if you can cover them they require dark to germinate. they germinate in 5 to 10 days. For me inside usually within 3 days.

celosia needs light to germinate but requires warm temps day and night so it may be to early for them. They get 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall and require full sun. But they have great vibrant colors.

Johnny jump ups are primarily shade I believe but i've never grown them.

zinnias? Really? My mom has to spots in front of her screenhouse and she throws zinnia seeds in them every spring and they grow without fussing over them - just watering them.

Celosia - what kind? What do they look like?

celosia is also known as cockscomb

fast bloomers...they've been what I've been looking for this year! i figured these might bloom fast from seed:
wildflowers (those commercial mixes, not weeds lol)
cosmos
bachelor's buttons
alyssum
celosia
morning glory (any ipopmea , check spelling)
blanket flower aka gaillardia?
black eyed susan?
anything in the legumes family (beans, sweet peas, vetch etc...)

I have LOTS of blackeyed Susans I started indoors - love those! Thanks for the ideas!

cockscomb is one type of celosia. I prefer the one that looks like a feather. Something along the lines of the look of an astible but for full sun. This year I have Wine, Yellow and Carmine. The is also an orange and a pink that I've seen.

just make sure if you are doing celosia, don't start them too soon in pots cuz they don't transplant well...best to direct sow them

That is so true unless you decide to use the biodegradeable pots when you can just plop them in the soil without removing the pot. That's what I'm doing this year. I'm using the egg cartons with loads of water. My celosia started comming up after just a few days. And they will be ready for transplant in about a month which is when it will be warm enough for them to be outside anyway.

I used to grow vegetables here and there in my flower beds. Filled the space quickly and you got veggies out of it as well.

yes I do veggies too.Okra looks great really like the cajan red.and peppers

marigolds
petunias(8 weeks from seed to bloom)
Amaranthus
salvias
Larkspur
basil(even purple ruffles)

mostly annuals will stay in bloom longer than perienals

I was just thinking that the black oil sunflower seeds came up really quickly last year too. I was suprised by how quickly.

How does the purple ruffle basil taste? I'm always curious about basils.

I did the same thing. Well, sort of. I drew a line in the dirt and sprinkled in some zinnia seeds and viola! Sprouts in a week! They're getting big now. I think they are neat. I used them in the back of my garden b/c they get tall and I needed height back there. Pretty too!