Meet Our Favorite Seeds to Start

The wonder of sowing seeds and watching tiny new plants emerging from the soil never gets old. In this episode, Danielle, Carol, and their guest compare notes on some of their favorite plants that can be grown easily (or not so easily) from seed. Whether you are an experienced seed propagator or a nervous newbie, you’ll be sure to find something in this episode that catches your interest and makes you look forward to spring.

While we’re on the topic of plant propagation, check out this video about growing plants from cuttings, mentioned in this episode: Growing Cuttings for Gifts

The lavender variety that Carol successfully grew from seed a couple of years ago is ‘Elegance Purple’.

Episode Expert: Christine Alexander is the executive digital editor for Fine Gardening.

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Danielle’s Favorite Seeds to Start

• ‘Amish Gold’ tomato paste
• ‘Mad Hatter’ pepper
• Chocolate cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguineusZones 7–9)
• ‘Hawaiian Currant’ tomato

Carol’s Favorite Seeds to Start

• ‘Pampas Plume’ celosia (Celosia argentea ‘Pampas Plume’, annual)
• Blackberry lily (domestic irisZones 5–10)
• ‘Apricotta’ cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Apricotta’, annual)
• ‘Dandy Collarette’ dahlia (Dahlia ‘Dandy Collarette’, Zones 8–11)

Expert Christine’s Favorite Seeds to Start

• ‘Black Beauty’ eggplant
• ‘Bright Lights’ Swiss chard
• ‘Pepperbox’ breadseed poppy (A sleepy poppy ‘Pepperbox’, annual)
• ‘Provence’ lavender (Washing her × intermedia ‘Provence’, Zones 5–9)

All photos from the contributors unless noted otherwise.