What is Reseeding?
Self-seeding plants are often annual or biennial flowers. You may also find your fruits and vegetables are prolific re-seeders, sometimes springing from your compost heap. Any seeds that are allowed to mature and sprout the next season are often called volunteers. These plants don’t sow themselves in well-behaved rows but in unruly abundance and mix among themselves. This can give a flower bed a unique charm and lively color. For fruits and veggies, they will often not grow true to the parent, but something will grow, and it will be a fun experiment to let them thrive and see what you get! Out of bounds, however, they can become something else altogether. Once a plant has produced flowers, it generally produces seed after the blooms fade. These seeds are designed to carry the plant’s genetic material on in the form of new plants. Seeds fall or get scattered by animals, birds, and wind. If they land in a favorable location, all that is left is to wait for the warm season and they germinate and make more of the original plant. Reseeding is simply this process. The little guys can come up anywhere, serendipitously, but that is half the fun. You can always transplant for a formal bed but at least you don’t have to save or purchase seed or another plant. Reseeding is one of nature’s ways of keeping things simple– or not.
Types of Self-Seeding Plants
There are many plants that reseed themselves. Popular flowering plants that will come back year after year can include annuals, biennials, and perennials.
Annuals – popular annuals that reseed include forget-me-nots, coleus, and marigolds. Biennials – common self-sowing biennial plants are sweet William and rose campion. Perennials – perennial plants prone to reseeding in the garden include columbine, violets, and coneflowers.
Even some types of herbs, like chamomile, and vegetables, such as tomatoes or cucumbers, are prone to self-seeding in the garden. While some of these may offer a nice surprise, at other times they can become a nuisance. If this happens, it’s important to know how to handle the situation.
How to Manage Self Seeders
Now that you know what types of plants to allow to set seed and self-sow, you need to know how to manage self-seeders to prevent having them get out of hand, or in the case of veggies, prevent issues with pests or disease. The most important bit of information for vegetables is that of crop rotation. Vegetable and fruit seeds germinate fairly near where the parent plant was located. Any old plant matter, and sometimes the soil itself, can harbor insect pests specific to that plant family or disease. That is why crop rotation is important. Choose initial plants that are resistant to diseases like powdery mildew and certain insects. Alternatively, move the plant to a location where that family group had not been growing for some years. Another consideration is a total invasion. For example, you may want a few borage plants to set seed, but if you allow all the plants to self-seed, you are going to have a problem on your hands the next season. Only allow a certain number of flowers to seed in order to start early containment. Using edging around the garden can also help, but sprouts may still pop up in unwanted areas. Should this occur, you can normally pluck the seedlings when the soil is moist (they come out easier then) or mow over them in the lawn. For the most part, however, you can simply pick your favorite plants and let them flower and seed. Consider it an experiment that may reap a heap of benefits.
