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Best wildflower mix for Chester , Md #873987

Asked June 20, 2024, 5:37 PM EDT

Suggestions for best wildflower mix for success in Chester, md Also, when is best time to plant these seeds? Thanks

Queen Anne's County Maryland

Expert Response

Are you hoping to plant a pollinator garden?:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/pollinator-gardens/
 or planning to try to make a meadow (which will contain more grasses than flowers?:
https://extension.umd.edu/search/?keys=meadow, which includes https://extension.umd.edu/resource/how-make-meadow/
Either way, it will be good for you to know that you live in the Coastal Plain region of Maryland. 
You might want to consider starting with small plugs rather than seeds, and you can ask the purveyor where the seed for their plugs actually came from.
It is challenging to get seed mixes that are actually suited to the precise ecoregion where you are planting.

You'll note that there is list at this link for firms that specialize in wildflower meadows located in Queen Anne's that may be willing to chat with you about what mixes they use.: https://extension.umd.edu/resource/natural-area-management-services-directory-converting-lawn-wildflower-and-pollinator-meadows/

Also check out seed mixes from Ernst Seed Company:
https://www.ernstseed.com/?utm_term=&utm_campaign=Performance+Max+Tier+2&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=<personal data hidden>&hsa_cam=<personal data hidden>&hsa_grp=&hsa_ad=&hsa_src=x&hsa_tgt=&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwydSzBhBOEiwAj0XN4AGh0B1ftmFde4QQto_zaqBo9Dk2_7XP6Zte64zQVzD4ZxGduK6f4xoC9HYQAvD_BwE

If you go with seeding, it will be best done in early spring, or fall but it's important to spend time prior killing back all the existing weeds and grass, either by digging up and removing several inches, (or smothering or  spraying with non-selective systemic herbicide containing glyphosate), then seeing what comes back and killing that back too.
Generally, it's best to start small so you can keep it weeded and watered for the first couple of years of establishment.


Christine







Ernst

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