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Adding American Meadows wildflower seeds to bare soil

How To Add Wildflowers To An Established Meadow

Adding wildflowers to your established meadowscape is a walk in the park! Meadows change and evolve from season to season and year to year. If you want to fill bare patches in your meadow, add more color or more variety into your meadow, or expand your meadow, this guide will show you how.

These tips are best for a meadow with established perennial wildflowers. If you grew a mix of only annual wildflowers and your meadow seems lackluster, we’d recommend starting fresh! See our guide to planting a wildflower meadow here. 

This meadow shows our Northeast Wildflower Seed Mix in bloom in year one. Annuals like poppies are showing off their bright colors.
This photo shows our Northeast Wildflower Seed Mix in bloom in year one. Annuals like poppies are showing off their bright colors. Customer photo by Michael F.
This photo shows the same meadow in its second year. The annuals have been replaced by the biennials and perennials blooming in year two. This customer planted a row of low-growing annual Alyssum for a boost of color! Customer photo by Michael F.
This photo shows the same meadow in its second year. The annuals have been replaced by the biennials and perennials blooming in year two. This customer planted a row of low-growing annual Alyssum for a boost of color! Customer photo by Michael F.

Plan: What Is Wildflower Meadow Succession?

Why does your meadow look different in year two or three than it did in the first year? Plant succession is the ecological process a plant community changing over time.

Changes in your meadow reflect the lifecycles of the wildflowers in your meadow - annuals only have a one-year lifecycle, while perennials typically start blooming in the second season and will return year after year. Other factors can affect changes as well, such as drought, soil types, weed pressure, and more.

Learn More: Wildflower Life Cycles - Annuals, Perennials, and Biennials

Plan: When To Add To Your Meadow

Expert tip: when adding to your meadow, early spring planting is ideal. You can see where established perennials are sprouting back up, but they won’t shade out your seedlings. Plus, you don’t have to trek through a full meadow as you would for a fall planting! 

For a detailed guide, see additional details in our guide: How To Grow Wildflowers

Plan: What To Add To Your Meadow: Annuals, Perennials, Or A Mix?

You can add color to your meadow by incorporating more of your favorite flowers from your established meadow, or by sowing seeds for new wildflowers into your meadow!

Here are pros and cons of adding annuals, perennials, or a seed mix into your established meadow.

Adding Annual Wildflowers To Your Meadow

Want to see bright, bold color in your meadow like you did the first year? All of our wildflower seed mixes include annuals to give you that beautiful burst of color in the first season. In some growing conditions the annuals can return, however, as your meadow matures you are likely to see fewer annuals returning year after year. Not to worry! You can sow fresh annual wildflower seeds to bring back a flush of new, bright annual blooms to your meadow. 

Annuals have a one-year life cycle — and since they don't have to save energy for next year, they’re on a mission to produce bountiful flowers all season long. Favorite annual wildflowers include Sunflowers, Zinnias, Cosmos, Poppies, and more. If you want to guarantee the bold color of annual wildflowers every season, then we do recommend planting fresh annual wildflower seed each season.

Shop Annual Wildflower Seeds

 

Adding Perennials To Your Meadow

Looking for a low-maintenance meadowscape? Add perennials for perpetual blooms. Each perennial has a dedicated bloom time. Established perennial wildflowers require very little care, and they can even multiply and spread over time.  

Perennials come back year after year from an established root system, which means once you plant them, you can look forward to welcoming back your old friends each season. Favorite perennial wildflowers include Lupines, Echinacea, Milkweed, Daisies, and more. 

Shop Perennial Wildflower Seeds


Adding A Wildflower Mix To Your Meadow

Want the best of both worlds of annuals and perennials? Plant a wildflower mix. Our Wildflower Seed Patches – bestselling seed mixes in smaller packages – are perfect for adding color into your meadow. 

Shop Wildflower Seed Mixes

 

Not sure which seeds are best? Check out our guide: How To Choose Wildflower Seeds

Prepare

Good seed-to-soil contact is important for seed germination. If you just toss seed into an established meadow, seeds are unlikely to have what they need to germinate. Preparing the soil is the key to maximizing your blooms. 

There are two ways you can add to your meadow:

Preparation For Expanding Your Wildflower Meadow By Planting A Border

  1. Remove grass and weeds so that they will not compete with wildflower seedlings.
  2. For quick preparation, you can dig by hand or use a rototiller to cultivate a narrow band along the edge of your established meadow. With more time, you can smother or solarize a band along the edge of your meadow.
  3. For more info about various methods for removing existing growth from your planting side, check out our complete guide: How To Remove Grass & Weeds To Prepare For Planting

Preparation For Filling Bare Patches Or Adding Color & Variety 

  1. In the spring, go through your meadow and look for spots that have the thinnest returning growth. 
  2. Then, prepare the soil in those patches. With a small hand tiller, or even a good sharp shovel, remove any existing growth in patches of soil. We recommend preparing patches about 2 to 3 feet wide. 

How To Add To Your Meadow By Planting A Border

The simplest way to add annuals each spring is to create a border strip. This will add a border of colorful flowers that are easy to see and easy to access for cut flowers. 

  1. First, prepare the soil. Remove grass and weeds so that they will not compete with wildflower seedlings. We usually recommend digging by hand or using a rototiller to cultivate a narrow band along the edge of your established meadow. (See the photo above for an example!)
  2. Next, sow your wildflower seeds in the bare soil. Before spreading seeds, mix them with clean, dry sand to support even spreading (not soil). Remember to following the recommended coverage rate for your seeds - not too much or too little - for the best results.
  3. After sowing, compress seeds into the soil to ensure good seed-to-soil contact. We recommend leaving seeds uncovered so that the sunlight will encourage germination. 
  4. Water regularly until seedlings are 4-6 inches tall. After that, their roots will be established and they should be able to thrive on rainfall.
  5. For more details, see our complete guide: How To Grow Wildflowers 

Expert Tips:

  • When choosing flowers for a border, look for flowers that are the same height or lower than the established meadow mix. That way, you won't block the view to your established meadow!
  • Try our neat and tidy Picket Fence Wildflower Seed Mix or lower-growing Wildflower Lawn Mixes for your wildflower border! These colorful wildflower mixes will add a burst of blooms, but won't block your existing meadow.
  • Remember, annuals are best planted each year - perennials will return for years to come. Seed mixes offer the best of both worlds.

    • How To Add To Your Meadow By Planting Patches

    Another way to boost your established wildflower meadow is by planting fresh seed in sparse patches throughout the meadow. This will bring the flush of new, bright annual blooms to your meadow, among the steady show of established perennial wildflowers.

    1. In the spring, go through your meadow and look for spots that have the thinnest returning growth. 
    2. Then, prepare the soil in patches. With a small hand tiller, or even a good sharp shovel, remove any existing growth in patches of soil. We recommend preparing patches about 2-3 feet wide. 
    3. On the loose, bare earth, sow a handful of wildflower seed. Before spreading seeds, mix them with clean, dry sand to support even spreading (not soil). Remember to following the recommended coverage rate for your seeds - not too much or too little - for the best results.
    4. Compress seeds to ensure good seed-to-soil contact.
    5. Water regularly until seedlings are 4-6 inches tall.

    Expert Tips:

    • When choosing flowers for patches, look for your favorite flowers! Be sure to select varieties that are tall enough to be seen among your established meadow. 
    • Try our Wildflower Seed Patches for bestselling wildflower seeds in smaller quantities.
    • Or, grow your favorite flowers that will rise above the rest, like tall and cheerful Sunflowers, or graceful Cosmos.
    • Remember, annuals are best planted each year - perennials will return for years to come. Seed mixes offer the best of both worlds.

    Patience: What To Expect While Your New Wildflowers Grow

    Expert tip: when adding to your meadow, early spring planting is ideal. You can see where established perennials are sprouting back up, but they won’t shade out your seedlings. Plus, you don’t have to trek through a full meadow as you would for a fall planting! 

    For a detailed guide, see additional details in our guide: How To Grow Wildflowers

    Purpose: Four Reasons To Add To Your Meadow

    1. Enhance a wildflower mix: If you planted a wildflower seed mix with both annuals and perennials, after the first season, you may see fewer colorful annuals in bloom after year one. Plant fresh annual seeds to enhance your meadow with bright blooms. Annuals only live for one year, but they tend to bloom all season. Perennials have a shorter flowering window, but they'll return year after year.
    2. Plant more wildflowers for cut flowers: Do you love making bouquets with prolific annual wildflowers like Zinnias, Cosmos, and Sunflowers? Adding more of these long-blooming annuals to your meadowscape each spring is the perfect solution. 
    3. Plant more of your favorite flowers: If you planted a wildflower seed mix and discovered some new favorite flowers, you can add even more of them to your meadow! We offer seeds for dozens of individual species.
    4. Less lawn, more flowers: Are you ready to replace more of your lawn with beautiful, pollinator-friendly wildflowers? Make room for more blooms!