Collinsia verna (Blue-Eyed Mary) [20 Seeds]

Germination Information: I recommend blue-eyed Mary seeds only for very patient and careful gardeners, because this species has a different growth cycle than many annuals. It is considered a “winter annual”: It drops its seeds in summer and they sprout in fall, overwinter as small seedlings (very easy to mistake for weeds), and then fill out in bloom in spring. So, if you want to grow blue-eyed Mary, you have to sow in early June to early August in the spot where you want them to bloom next spring. Make sure the site is open—not thickly mulched or leaf-covered—so they can sprout in fall, and remember not to accidentally pull them out or disturb them with other planting in that spot in early spring. Surface-sow or just barely cover the seeds when you scatter them. Once you get blue-eyed Mary to flower in your garden, it is likely to self-sow to some extent.

By the way, I have had good luck with transplanting the seedlings while they are still small (in late February to mid March here). I keep a “nursery” patch of blue-eyed Mary in a bed in my vegetable garden and plant bush beans in that spot as a useful summer filler; the beans are done well before the blue-eyed Mary seedlings appear in fall. Then I move some of the seedlings in early spring to other parts of the garden to enjoy for flowers and keep the original patch for seed production.

I’ll also note that I recommend buying these seeds in summer (June to early August), so you can plant them right away. I may have seeds available past that period, but personally, I don’t see the point of buying them after the ideal sowing period, because you’re just going to have to wait to sow the following summer, and you may as well buy and sow fresh seeds then than sow than year-old ones. I believe this lack of attention to following the natural germination cycle is why some people say they have trouble getting these seeds to sprout. Unfortunately, they don’t bother to read this and then blame the seeds.

Note that this information will not appear on the seed packet you receive.

Please read the description as well before ordering.