Lacy Phacelia | Annual Wildflower Seeds (2024)

FAQs

When to plant Lacy Phacelia seeds? ›

Sow Lacy Phacelia seeds in the early spring when there is still a chance of frost. Press the wild flower seeds into the soil, cover 1/8, and keep seeds moist continuously. Thin seedlings to 12 inches apart. Lacy Phacelia will drop its own wildflower seeds.

Its soft green leaves and stems die back to the ground in fall, but the roots of the perennial plant are alive underground and new growth will emerge in the spring. The spent flowers will seed throughout the garden and will also grow new plants the next year.

It is a prolific seed producer and will regenerate from seed.

Lacy phacelia is used extensively in Europe in “catch crops” (cover crops), pollinator plantings, and for intercropping for bio-control benefits. When planted as an intercrop it attracts hoverflies which feed on nectar and pollen, and then lay their eggs on the underside of leaves of associated crops.

Lacy Phacelia thrives in full sun and prefers poor, rocky, sandy, well-drained soils. They are an excellent choice for borders, cottage gardens, city gardens, and wildlife gardens.

The only issue with growing phacelia is that it self-seeds readily. if flowers aren't removed it can become invasive. However, by simply removing flowers and/or controlling its spread by collecting seed yourself, you can prevent this problem.

🐶 Phacelia is dog-friendly, no vet visit typically needed. Identify non-toxic plants like Phacelia for pet safety. Act fast if distress signs after ingestion; call vet with details.

Pretty powder blue-purple one inch flowers late spring into summer offer nectar to hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. The seeds are enjoyed by songbirds.

The honey bees love it. Lacy phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia), a leggy three-foot plant with clusters of light blue to purple flowers, attracts not only honey bees but syrphid flies, bumbles bees and other pollinators.

Despite its non-toxic status, Phacelia can be a bit of a double-edged sword. Skin irritation has been reported due to contact with the plant's hairs, particularly the glandular ones.

When should I start phacelia? ›

It is easy to plant and grow Phacelia from seed. There is no real need to start Phacelia indoors. Direct sow every couple of weeks from last frost to mid-June. This will produce a summer full of flowers and flowers full of pollinators.

Since Lacy phacelia are incredibly attractive to bees and butterflies and by adding them to home gardens it increases the likelihood of the surrounding flowering plants or vegetables to be pollinated as well!

Common phacelia is a dicot angiosperm in the borage family (Boraginaceae). Plants in the borage family are coated by small, stiff hairs, and have flowers that are often located along a coiled stalk.

Phacelia (phacelia, scorpionweed, heliotrope) is a genus of about 200 species of annual or perennial herbaceous plants in the borage family, native to North and South America. California is particularly rich in species with over 90 recorded in the region.

Additional lacy phacelia info says purple tansy wildflowers bloom from April through July. They're often found growing in ditches, along roadsides, and in open meadows.

As it's a quick to establish species, sow from spring until autumn after the risk of frost has passed. Phacelia does not need topping and is generally free from problems with pest and disease. Phacelia can flower and set seed quickly, if seed shed is a risk, destroy at or just after flowering.

Sow phacelia in spring while the soil is still cool. Make sure seed is well covered, because phacelia seeds need darkness to germinate. Broadcast seed into cultivated soil so that the seeds are about 2 inches (5 cm) apart and one-fourth inch (0.5 cm) deep. Thin to 10 inches (25 cm) apart in all directions.

When working with vegetable seeds, when to plant is dependent on the time it takes each plant to reach maturity and the length of the growing season in your USDA Planting Zone. But as a general rule of thumb, you should start most seeds four to six weeks before your last frost date.