You Can Still Sow Flowers in August – 7 Picks for Quick Blooms or Years of Glorious Color

August isn’t commonly thought of as a month for sowing flower seeds. It isn’t peak sowing time, true, but that shouldn’t put you off. There is a beautiful mix of flowers to sow in August that can provide both color this year and early blooms next spring.

Perennials, biennials, and annuals can all be sown in August. The fastest, such as sweet alyssum or marigolds, can flower this year in warmer climates. Or, viola can be sown for winter color. Others, like black-eyed Susan, coneflower, and California poppies, will reward you with a bounty of color next year and potentially for years to come.

Don’t disregard summer sowing. Despite there being a lot of other tasks around the garden needing attention, there is a great selection of popular flowers to sow in August. You can sow seeds indoors or outdoors, but just make sure to keep a close eye on watering after planting in August. A soaker hose, like this one at Walmart, can offer an efficient solution to keep outdoor sowings hydrated on warm summer days.

California Poppies

California poppies are short-lived perennials in warmer climates or annuals elsewhere. They are popular types of poppies with vibrant orange, yellow, or red flowers. They are perfect plants for hot, dry gardens and can also thrive in poor soil types, including sandy and rocky ground.

If you want to grow California poppies, you can sow seeds in late August for earlier blooms next year. Once you have them in your garden, they will self-seed readily, or you can harvest California poppy seeds to sow yourself.

Sow seeds outdoors directly in their growing position, as poppies have delicate roots that dislike root disturbance. Clear the area, rake it level, and thinly scatter the seeds. Press them into the soil and cover them with a fine layer of soil. Keep the area moist, but be careful when watering plants. Use a fine rose (you can get a rose head for a watering can at Amazon) or spray so as not to dislodge the small seeds.

You can get packs of ‘Mission Bells’ California poppy seeds at Amazon that are bred to bloom in six shades, including orange, pink, scarlet, apricot, and cream.

Cornflower

Cornflower, or bachelor’s button, is a popular wildflower that has become a common sight in gardens.

The plants are highly versatile and can be used in anything from wildflower meadows to cottage garden borders. The classic cornflower is a beautiful blue, but nowadays you can get blooms in shades of white, pink, red, and even dark plum to suit any garden type or color scheme.

Sowing cornflowers in August works as you get strong plants and early flowers next year, usually starting to show in May or early June and putting on a strong performance early in the season.

The best method is to sow the seeds directly into prepared ground in late August. Cover them lightly, keep them moist, and the seeds should readily germinate. However, an alternative option is to start them off indoors in modules or pots and overwinter them before planting outside next spring after the frosts.

You can get a packet of ‘Blue Boy’ bachelor’s button seeds at Botanical Interests that’ll impress with sky-blue flowers.

Calendula

Pot marigolds are a hardy calendula variety and a fast-growing flowering annual. They are traditionally sown in spring by gardeners. But as hardy annuals that can cope with frosts, calendulas can also be sown in the early fall to overwinter outdoors to flower earlier next spring.

Wait, as it gets even better. If you live in warmer climates, there is even time for August-sown calendula to bloom this year and continue well into winter. The bright, cheery blooms can be great for fall pollinators and be used as a vegetable companion plant. Calendula blooms are also edible flowers to add to salads and soups.

Pot marigolds are so simple to grow from seed. Either prepare the ground and sow them directly where you want them to flower, or sow seeds indoors into modules or pots filled with a good seed compost, such as this organic seed starting mix at Burpee.

You can get pot marigold seeds at Amazon to sow at home.

Black-Eyed Susan

Black-eyed Susan is a perennial plant with a long flowering season. Indeed, many types of Black-eyed Susan can bloom from summer right through to the first frosts. The plants dazzle with their bright petals set against the dark centers, and the blooms attract lots of pollinators to any wildlife garden.

You can buy plants from any garden center or online, but a cost-effective way to grow Black-eyed Susan is to sow seeds, and August is an ideal time to start plants off. Planting Black-eyed Susan seeds this month gives plants the chance to develop stems and roots this year, and then burst into glorious bloom next summer.

You can get Black-eyed Susan seeds at Botanic Interests to sow directly into the garden or into trays, modules, or small pots. Using biodegradable pots (like these fiber pots from Burpee) is an ideal way to start plants and transfer them to the soil without disturbing the roots too much.

Coneflowers

Like Black-eyed Susan, coneflowers are perennial plants that are popular additions to flower beds or container gardens thanks to their distinctive backswept petals around a central ball. Coneflowers are also great plants for pollinators and can be grown as cut flowers.

An advantage of sowing coneflower seeds in August is that you provide them naturally with the period of cold stratification they need to germinate. Coneflower seeds need up to 10 weeks of cold to germinate, which they get naturally by sowing in late August and overwintering in the ground.

Sow the seeds thinly over the soil surface and press them down to establish good contact. Don’t cover the seeds, as they need light to germinate, and keep the soil moist. Gardeners may need to cover them or put up deterrents to stop birds from eating the seeds over winter.

There are many different coneflower varieties you can sow this month. However, purple coneflowers are probably the most popular, and you can understand why due to their light purple petals against dark centers. You can get packs of purple coneflower seeds at True Leaf Market.

Sweet Alyssum

There is time to get fall flowers in warmer climates by sowing the seeds of these fast-growing tiny flowers in August. Sweet alyssum germinates and develops speedily, and you can go from sowing to enjoying the first blooms in 6-8 weeks.

Gardeners in colder climates can also sow at the end of this month or into fall, but their sowings will emerge in spring for early blooms.

Sweet alyssum seeds are another that need light to germinate, so just press the seeds lightly into the surface rather than cover them with soil. Keep a close eye on the soil to ensure it remains consistently moist and doesn’t dry out.

When you grow sweet alyssum, prepare for your plants to self-seed and spread around the garden. You can deadhead plants throughout the flowering season to restrict the spread.

You can get packets of white sweet alyssum seeds at True Leaf Market

Viola

Winter violas and pansies are tough plants that provide bright color during the starkest times of year in the garden. They make great winter flowers for pots, and there is a range of violas to propagate from seed in August.

Viola seeds are incredibly fine and must be handled carefully. Sow them into the surface of damp seed compost in trays, modules, or pots. As they need light to germinate, only cover them with a very fine layer of compost or vermiculite (get organic vermiculite at Walmart).

Place the seed containers somewhere bright, transplant the seedlings into individual pots if needed, and plant them outdoors once they are ready.

If you want to grow violas for late and early season color in your yard, ‘Johnny Jump-Up’ is a classic heirloom winter viola variety. You can get packets of ‘Johnny Jump-Up’ viola seeds at Amazon.

What to Shop

Any gardener wanting to expand their plant collection should consider taking cuttings in August. It is a time of the year when plants have lots of semi-ripe material that is perfect for summer cuttings. Our guide to plants to propagate in August reveals seven popular shrubs and perennials that you can clone via cuttings this month.

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