May 2025 NEWSLETTER

Seedlings of all shapes and sizes!

Welcome to May! It is the month of seedlings. Depending on which method you used to sow your native seeds your seedlings will be different sizes. In this month’s newsletter I will talk about what to expect from each method and how to transplant or plant your seedlings.

Direct sowing

Some native plant species do not need a period of cold in order to germinate, you can sow these species immediately if you haven’t done so yet. See the bottom of the newsletter for a list.

If you directly sowed your seeds into the garden in the fall or winter some of them may start to germinate at the beginning of the month. Many species will take a little longer, especially the Thimbleweeds (Anemone virginiana and Anemone cylindrica), and the grasses. By the end of the month most of your seeds should have germinated.

Here are some Calico aster seeds that I sprinkled on top of the soil in mid December. They are just starting to germinate now.

We often get enough rain at this time of the year so you may not need to water your garden seedlings. Keep an eye on them just in case there is a long dry spell and they start to wilt.

Many species of native plants will not flower in the first year. They may look like they are not doing anything at all, they are just a small clump of leaves, but they are putting down a solid root system. They will flower the following year.

The above image is Hairy Beardtongue (*Penstemon hirsutis*). This is what it looked like all summer last year. It will flower this year (stay tuned for seeds!)

Winter sowing

If you winter sowed your seeds, some of your species will have germinated, although perhaps not all of them. The winter sowing container acts as a mini greenhouse, these seedlings might be a little farther ahead than the direct sown seeds. Make sure the containers don’t overheat, remove the lids on warm days and place the containers in part shade. Also make sure to water the containers if they start to look dry.

These New England Aster seedlings are a little farther along than the ones that were directly seeded in the garden. They have their first true leaf. They are ready to be potted up into larger containers.

Winter sowing has an extra step of transplanting the tiny seedlings into larger pots. Gently remove a clump of seedlings and place them on a plate. Separate a seedling from the clump and plant it in potting soil in a new pot. I use tweezers for this step, as the seedlings can be very small. Water the pot so the roots will have good soil contact. Repeat until all of your seedlings are planted.

The winter sown seedlings will need 4 to 6 weeks in their new pots until they will be large enough to plant out in the garden.

Seedlings inside under lights

Perhaps you stratified your seeds in the fridge, and have been growing them inside under lights. These seedlings are likely much larger than winter sown seedlings at this point. If you haven’t done so already, you can move them outside. They may be sensitive to frost depending on the species. Try to give them a period of hardening off so they are not shocked going from the warmth of the house to the fluctuating temperatures outside.