Perhaps the most appealing thing about wildflowers is their combination of beauty and self-sufficiency. They offer a dazzling range of color and form while displaying hardiness and adaptability not usually found in their more domesticated cousins, the garden flowers. Wildflowers actually prefer soils of low fertility, and many species are drought tolerant. These qualities make them ideal for landscaping applications where a low-maintenance approach is desired; Parks, industrial buildings, roadsides, country clubs, "roughs" in between golf course greens, landfills, revegetation projects. While a natural display of wildflowers in a meadow may look to be a casual phenomenon, natural forces may have taken years to achieve such effects. The following guidelines for planting wildflowers should be followed for maximum success.

Select a site that will be appropriate for the nature of your project. For roadside plantings, highway interchanges, rest areas, and approaches to cities and towns choose locations that will give maximum viewing exposure. For parks, golf courses and other public areas, you may wish to choose sites which are visible from entry roads or walkways but are areas in which you wish to reduce maintenance: open areas between trees, around ponds, rough areas or boundary areas. Whatever site you choose, it should have full sunlight exposure for maximum success unless you are planting a partial shade tolerant wildflower mixture. Sites that are relatively weed-free with existing stands of shorter grasses work best. Areas that contain strong weed populations and/or have soil erosion problems can be used for wildflower plantings, but more extensive site preparation will be necessary. If your site is excessively sloped, consider including grasses in your planting. This will help hold the soil while the wildflowers become established. In extreme cases, use of a commercially available fiber mat in conjunction with grasses and wildflowers is recommended. Once you have chosen a site, make note of the following factors: soil type; amount and season of rainfall; availability of supplemental irrigation; amount of sunlight; latitude; altitude; seasonal temperature range. All of these factors will have bearing on which wildflower species will grow best on your chosen location.

Climactic regions have been established for North America based on similarity of temperature, rainfall and elevation. Yet within each region there can exist considerable variation, especially from year to year. Under such conditions, it is usually best to plant a mixture of wildflower species that are suitable for the range of conditions within each region. Environmental Seed Producers' Regional Mixtures are formulated according to climactic conditions, plant height, color, flowering period, aggressiveness and ability to reseed, in order to give a long lasting, colorful display. A precise balance of annual and perennial species is achieved by seed count, and our recommended planting rates reflect a 125 seed per square foot standard. These mixtures will provide a succession of flower from spring to late summer. The annual species will flower quickly the first year and will generally reseed themselves the next year, subject to climactic and environmental influences. The perennial species will bloom in either the spring or summer of the second year and each year thereafter. Both native and naturalized wildflower species are used.Natives are well adapted to the region and show the greatest tendency to persist year after year. Naturalized species, however, are useful because they are frequently native to similar climates on other regions or continents and thus adapt readily to the region. The naturalized species are especially useful to fill in the gaps in the blooming cycles of the native wildflower species. For special requirements, custom mixtures can be blended on the basis of plant height, flower color, climactic conditions, drought tolerance or other criteria.

Soil preparation is a key step because seed/soil contact is vital for seed germination and for the healthy rooting of seedlings. It is also the first line of defense against the dormant weed seeds that are present in topsoil. Soil should be lightly scalped or scarified, but unless the site is heavily compacted, it is usually not necessary or desirable to till the soil deeply for two reasons: 1. It will promote the germination of weed seeds already present. 2. In arid climates, it will disturb the upward movement of moisture through the soil by capillary action, thereby lowering the moisture-holding capacity of the soil. To prepare small areas, cutting and removing existing weeds, followed by shallow roto-tilling, hand raking or power raking is recommended. For large areas, mow the existing vegetation as short as possible and then use a flail mower or harrow to break up the top 2 inches of soil. Another method would be to use a tractor to drag a length of chain link fence, weighted down with railroad, ties across the site. Then for large and small sites, water the area several times over a two to three week period to encourage dormant weed seed germination. After several weeks, when this second crop of weeds is up, spray them with Roundup or another short-acting non-selective herbicide and remove the dead vegetation. Further tilling of the soil at this point will only encourage a further corp of weeds. Wait one to two weeks before planting wildflower seed. Wildflowers do best in soils of low fertility. High nitrogen soils only encourage the growth of weeds and lush vegetative plant growth at the expense of the display of flowers. However, if your site consists of subsoil which is completely without nutrients, consider using a low nitrogen fertilizer with a 5-10-10 ratio.

If the planting will depend entirely upon rainfall for germination and growth, you must plant in anticipation of the rainy season. For many climates, this means a mid-March planting. Where supplemental water is available, wildflowers can be planted during the summer. However, if you want your planting to continue the following year, it must be planted no later than 8-10 weeks before anticipated frost. In Northern climates with severe winters, it is also possible to plant in the late fall and allow the seed to overwinter and sprout in the spring. This overwintering also has the effect of breaking the dormancy that some of the native seeds display. However, unless the seed is grown or collected regionally, much of this natural dormancy will have been diminished to match the climate where it was cultivated and therefore, dormancy-breaking will not be required. There are risks to overwintering, however: Late fall rains and warm spells may allow the seed to begin germination, only to be killed by the winter ground freezing. Also, the longer the seeds are on the ground, the more chance there is of them being eaten by birds and rodents.

Because wildflower seed mixtures contain seeds of vastly different sizes, blending an inert carrier like fine sand or vermiculite with the seed will help to insure an even distribution (4:1 sand to seed) is recommended. Follow the suggested planting rate for flat ground. Increase the rate 50-100% for 'difficult' sites-those without supplemental water, strong weed populations or sites with erosion problems. For small areas, hand broadcasting the seed along with the inert carrier will work quite well. For larger areas, mechanical seeding such as a cyclone-type seeder, a manure spreader or a modified grain drill work well, but tests must be made in order to achieve the proper planting rate with each type of machine. Once the seed has been planted, it must be covered to a maximum depth of 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch. This can be achieved by lightly raking the seed in with a hand rake for small areas, or by using a drag mat behind a tractor for larger areas. If a drill seeder is used, firm the soil after drilling with a cultipacker to insure proper seed/soil contact. Care must be taken not to cover the seeds too deeply as this is one of the primary causes for project failure. On hillsides or other relatively inaccessible areas, hydro mulching is an effective technique for planting. If a single application of seed and mulch is used, it is advisable to double the seeding rate per acre because some of the seed becomes suspended in the fiber and doesn't make proper contact with the soil. An alternative method is to apply the seed with 10% of the fiber in a first application, followed by the remainder of the fiber in a second application. If this two part method is used, a normal seeding rate can be used. It is also important to note that the time seed spends in the tank should be kept to a minimum because over-circulation of the seed in the hydromulching machine can damage the seed.

The planting must be kept moist for 4-6 weeks, using supplemental water if necessary in order to ensure germination of as many wildflower species as possible. As the planting becomes established, water can be gradually reduced. Many wildflowers are drought tolerant once established, but must receive adequate water in order to germinate and to become established. You should begin to see seedling within 2 weeks and the first flowers in 6-8 weeks. As the season progresses, several waves of color will be seen according to the blooming times of the species contained in the mixture. In dry climates or in drought conditions, 1/2 inch of supplemental irrigation per week will lengthen the blooming period of the wildflower display. Mow the area in the fall to a height of 4-6 inches, after most of the flowers have finished blooming and set seed. In most climates, this will be in mid-October. Mowing will help to scatter the ripe seeds for next year's showing. The following spring, consider supplementing the site with some new seed in order to more firmly establish the permanence of the planting and to suppress weed growth.

If you want to create a meadow effect by adding grasses to the wildflower mixture, use the non-aggressive clumping grasses like chewings and sheep fescue. For areas with less than 30 inches of annual rainfall, use an equal blend of sheep and chewing fescue at a rate of 20-25 pounds per acre or 1/2 pound per 1000 square feet. This amount should be added to the normal planting rate for the wildflower mixture you are using. For areas with more than 30 inches of annual rainfall, use sheep fescue alone because chewing fescue becomes too aggressive in wet conditions. In the southern states where sheep fescue grows poorly, use tall fescue. Another option is to use native grasses such as big bluestem, blue grama buffalograss, Indian ricegrass, sand lovegrass or side-oats grama with wildflowers. These grasses, however, are slower growing than fescue and therefore will not provide the quick erosion control qualities offered by the fescues. The best option is a combination of fescue and native grasses. Using pasture grasses such as bluegrass, brome, crested wheatgrass, annual ryegrass or orchardgrass are not usually recommended because they are too aggressive and will crowd-out the wildflowers. If included at all, they must not sown at more than 10-12 pounds per acre with the wildflower mixture being planted at normal to high rates.