How many of each seeds.

[Paranoidandroidmarvin]

I have looked for the answer to this question everywhere and I cannot get an answer.

I am fairly new to gardening but enjoyed growing the seeds last year but it was hit and miss of how much I grew.
Is there somewhere that will tell me how many seeds to plant to get a good crop.

As an example one of my seed packets I have is busy Lizzie. The packet says it has 50 seeds in it. With the best will in the world I don’t have space to sow all of those. But is that the amount I have to sow to have a full bloom of flowers? Or can I do five and it will look good.

I have cosmos seeds. How many of those will I need to sow to make them look like a good amount and not just a few that look rubbish.

I feel like this is something u learn as u go along. But I cannot find anywhere that says , grow at least ten seeds to make a good display.

It’s difficult because you’ll have different germination success depending on weather conditions when planting. You’ll then have losses on the way. So if you have 5 seeds germinating, you can’t guarantee that that will translate to 5 plants at the end

In addition, I find it helps to look at the planting advice for the young plants and compare with the space you have.

e.g. Busy Lizzies are often suggested to be planted about 15-20cm apart. So look at the space you want to fill and calculate how many plants that would take to cover, according to the guidance.

I then sow about 35% more than that to account for loss. For some plants, where the seedling stage is long and so I really don't want to have to start it again later in the year, I do up to 50% more. e.g. Chillies.

I over-sow everything! I sow as many of each type of seed as I can fit in the available seed trays or propagator space, then when I prick out the seedlings I choose the best ones and keep about 50% more than I think I need. When the seedlings are potted up again, or when they are ready to plant out, I again choose the best plants and the rest are either composted or given away.

If you want a more considered approach, then you need to think about the area you want each plant group to cover, and how far apart they should be planted. That will give you a rough number, then you can sow a few extra seeds in case some don't germinate.

I go with the 1/4 rule for veg.

sow 4 times as many as you think you need.
some seeds don't germinate, some seedlings don't survive potting on. and then there is weather and slugs/snails/cats...

if you end up with too many plants look for plant swaps on local sm pages.

and sow sequentiallly a week or so apart to allow for weather.

Not nearly as many as you think you do, and certainly not the whole packet.

I sow in cell trays, so I will do one row for each variety, maybe 4,5 or 6 cells depending on the tray. I usually sow 2 seeds in each cell, then pull out the weedier one once they have germinated.

Just start and see how it goes! Keep a journal to remind you what you did and when.

Good flower growing websites are Floral Project, Higgledy and Zoe Woodward.

This remains one of gardening’s great mysteries. A bit like cooking pasta, there is almost no way of getting it right - but in my area they used to say “one for the mouse and one for the crow, one to rot and one to grow” - hence the 4x rule above.

I suspect that this is one area of gardening where people tend to develop their own style, and everyone is slightly different but totally convinced their way is best!

Experience will tell you which way suits you best, OP. Some people can't bear to compost otherwise healthy plants/seedlings, but I'm fine with that. You'll soon see which way is best for you.

This is about 20-25 cosmos plants fully grown in summer. You'll probably need to plant 30 fresh seeds to get that germination rate and look after them.in a greenhouse until weather is good enough to start hardening off.

Be warned they were from an all white packet!

I germinate them in roottrainer seed trays which means I don't have to transplant- the germinate and grown until I put them.in the ground.

@Moveforward that is really helpful. Thanks. Thanks for the rest of the answers. Wish there was a list out there that said. This bunch was grown from ten seeds. So I would know roughly.

I always over sew incase not many are successful. Cosmos is an easy one, i accent lay dropped a couple seeds near my back door last year and had a lovely display at the end of the summer.

Most seeds I just see the whole packet into a seed tray and then pick the strongest looking seedlings to plant on, the rest go in the compost bin or are gifted to friends.

Seeds will lastly years but life is always easier with fresh seeds.

You will learn as you go as it all depends on sun, water, space, aspect, wind, soil, animals, pests, accidents etc. Also including if you pinch out to get bushier plants.

If you want a decent number do the 4 times thing. You can look at the packet spacings to give yourself an idea of the number in the space you have for them.

In reality nothing is guaranteed which is why so many of us have plant swaps later in the season. To offload the ones that you have extra and to get things to replace the ones that never grew.

I usually sow twice what I need. There's germination failures, the cat sitting on the seed tray, my watering forgetfulness, late frosts, endless bloody slugs despite nematodes, hens escaping and scoffing my lovely seedlings etc.

Cosmos is a really, really good place to start, OP, as they are very robust and long-flowering.