How to Grow Your Utah Lake Wildflowers

Site Preparation

Preparing the site for seeding is the most important step to ensure healthy wildflower establishment.

Select Your Site

• When selecting a site for your wildflowers, pay close attention to existing vegetation. This is a good indicator of the site’s fertility.
• Your site should receive at least 6 hours of sunshine a day.
• Wet or low areas tend to accumulate weed seed, so avoid them if possible. These areas will promote weed growth that may compete with your flowers.

Remove Vegetation & Prepare Your Site

• Remove existing vegetation on your new wildflower site. The most effective way to kill all existing vegetation is to apply a non-selective glyphosate herbicide. Spray while vegetation is actively growing. Always carefully follow the manufacturer instructions when applying herbicides.
• Wait 7 days, or longer if indicated by the herbicide manufacturer, then rake up the dead material. On heavily compacted sites, shallow tillage may be necessary. 
• Rake the area flat. The bed should be firm enough that walking on the site will not allow sinking more than half an inch. If the soil is too loose, walking or lightly tamping the soil will achieve the required density.

Seed Application

The ideal time to establish your wildflowers is from late April to early May or late August to mid-September. Before seeding, all soil preparation should be complete.

Plant Your Seed

• Apply the seed by hand or with the use of a hand held or push spreader using the recommended seed rate. Note: Our wildflower mixes typically have a seeding rate of ½ lb per 1000 sqft.
• When planting a large area with small seeds, consider mixing sawdust or rice hulls (available on our website) with the seed to aid in proper seed distribution. Doing this will allow the small seeds to feed through the spreader more consistently.
• After application, lightly rake the seed into the soil. Ideally, the seeds should be planted no deeper than an eighth (1/8″) to a quarter (1/4″) of an inch. Do not exceed the maximum depth of one half. inch (1/2″) for larger seeds.

Alternate Planting Methods

• To plant on rough or steep terrain use a broadcast spreader. Also consider applying tackifier to help hold the seed in place during germination.
• Seed bombs are clumps of clay, compost, and seeds rolled into a palm sized ball. They are great for dropping, tossing, and throwing to randomly liven your dreary landscape.

Maintain Your Wildflowers

• One of the advantages of planting wildflowers is that they are low maintenance. However, do not confuse low maintenance for no maintenance.
• Water your wildflowers regularly after planting until root systems are well-established then reduce watering.
• Keep in mind that some perennials can take up to three years to bloom and to reach full potential.

Planting instructions by Nature’s Seed.

Wildflower Maintenance

After sowing your wildflower seed, it’s important to keep the soil moist. In many areas of the country, seasonal rainfall may be adequate, but drier climates may require additional watering if necessary.

Establish Your Wildflowers

• Keep the soil moist. During establishment in drier climates, set the sprinklers to water frequently for short periods in order to saturate the top 3-4 inches of soil and to avoid drying out. Avoid overwatering and fertilizer applications, which can benefit competing weeds more than the flowers.
• During establishment, remove weeds as necessary. Be aware that your new seedlings may resemble weeds themselves. A tip for identifying the weeds from the flowers is to plant your flowers in rows. Anything you see germinating outside the row should be removed.
• Carefully remove weeds close to flowers in order to avoid damaging the desired plant.

Keep me up to date

on museum events and projects:

Can’t see the form?

Click here to view it.