Some of my favorite plants will reseed each year if the conditions are right. Sweet Alyssum comes back each year in my garden thicker than the last.  I am careful in early spring not to till or disturb the soil so the seeds can germinate. Then, by mid-May, I can dig up large clumps of the new seedlings and use them in other beds or in containers. It comes back so thick that it is an effective weed barrier. But I noticed that the purple-colored variety does not reseed as vigorously as the white. 

I use pre-emergent herbicides in some of my beds to cut down on the amount of weeding. But I skip the beds that have the plants I want to reseed. The lenten rose reseeds quite nicely in some of my beds. Even though it takes a few years for these seedlings to mature into flowering plants, it is worth the wait. These are expensive plants, so I welcome the additions. I skip the pre-emergent application in the coneflower beds as well. If an area has potential to fill in from reseeding, I tolerate all the weeding until it thickens up with the desired plant. 

Foxgloves, columbines, lavender and cleomes are all welcome reseeders in my garden. Others, like switch grass and sweet autumn clematis are too aggressive for me. Unlike alyssum, which reseeds just in the area of the parent plant, the sweet autumn clematis seems to have a wide range for reseeding. Being a climber, it must have a better opportunity to get caught up in the wind. New plants show up 30, 40 and 50 feet away from the original location.  It never ceases to amaze me how it can take hold under a large shrub and hide from me for a couple years.  You have to admire its persistence, even if it is not a welcome reseeder.

Posted by Bob Rensel