by Ray Allen

Two Great Articles with more Info: Why Many Experts think Fall Planting is Best.    Late planting dates for Seeds and Bulbs, by region. We've just added our "Fall Maximum Mix" which is a big bargain every fall.  This year, it contains a whopping 43 species, and is great for all regions.  Best of all, it compares to other mixtures at 26.95 lb, but it's on sale now for just 19.95  lb.* Why is fall a great time to plant wildflowers?  Think about it--that's what nature does.  As wildflowers die down in late summer, their seeds ripen and fall to the ground.  When you plant in fall, you're right in with the rhythm of the seasons, and your seeds will have a head start on spring.  Here's how it works. If you live in a cold area, wait until killing frost, and then plant your seeds in the same way you would at any time of year.  (For details, visit our step-by-step planting instructions, "How to Create your own Wildflower Meadow")  And there are some other real advantages to fall planting versus spring: 1. Fall-planted seed blooms about 2 weeks earlier than the same seed planted that spring. 2. There's much less gardening work to do in fall, and much less interference from the weather. Many gardeners plant their wildflower seeds on the same beautiful fall days when they plant their fall bulbs. As for the seeds, they're perfectly happy to wait through the winter and sprout for you in early spring.   Perhaps spring will always be the number one time for planting, but October is the only month in the year when the entire continent of North America can plant wildflower seeds successfully.  There's no snow or frozen ground in the east.  And in California, the winter wildflower seed planting season has begun.  In frost free areas such as South Florida and far south Texas, wildflowers are planted in fall for winter bloom.  Here's an example in Orlando, FL. So if you can, wherever you live, get your wildflower seeds in this fall.  And enjoy having less work and earlier bloom that you'd have if you waited until spring. *at the time this blog was posted