Wallflower: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
How do you sow wallflowers and stocks outdoors?
Before sowing wallflowers or stocks outdoors, check the botanical name and life cycle on the packet. The garden group includes Erysimum and Matthiola, with different sowing schedules. Common wallflowers grown as biennials are often sown in summer for flowering the following spring. Some annual Matthiola strains can be sown in spring when local conditions are suitable. Use the instructions for the actual selection rather than one timetable for every type.
Choose a bright place with draining soil. Remove weeds and rake the surface to make an even seedbed. Scatter the seeds thinly, in rows or a small nursery area. Cover lightly as directed by the supplier, firm gently and water with a fine rose. Label the species, variety and date so you can follow the sowing.
Keep moisture even until emergence without saturating the ground. Protect the sowing from rain that could displace seeds and watch for slugs on young shoots. Once seedlings are recognisable, remove competing weeds by hand. Thin crowded plants, adjusting spacing to their future size. Flowering may belong to the next season according to type, so do not expect one fixed interval between sowing and blooms.
When do wallflowers and stocks flower?
