Any tips on how best to thin self sown annuals? I have a really thick patch of nigella and another of calendula. I ran a hand rake through the nigella when they were seedling size, but now both are getting away from me. Do I need to hand prick these to about a 2" spacing? Or just let them go and hope for the best? I get this with feverfew as well, but those seem easier to thin once they've got some bulk to them and sometimes I will actually transplant the thinnings.

I wait until mine are big enough to transplant. I don't usually thin anything but the morning glories.

Bonehead said:Any tips on how best to thin self sown annuals?

Hi Deb,

When you are thinning a surplus of seedlings, you have the opportunity to pick the "best" seedlings to save, and thus possibly increase the quality of your stand.

ZM

I hope a follow-up question is ok. When do you know they are ready for transplant? I read one article that said 2 inches, but is that a uniform measurement, or is there another way to tell?

I don't do any transplanting - my hope was to just let them self-seed and be done with it. A bit trickier than I thought apparently. But, still manageable - some definitely are pretty gung-ho about reseeding themselves so I suppose thinning them will be helpful. And ZM, you are right - some of the seedlings are heads above the rest, those will definitely be 'keepers.' Although, being annuals, I suppose there may be something to have a succession of the same plant. See -- more tricky!

Honestly on the coneflowers I just yank up the ones I don't want and they go to the compost bin. It is hard to yank a pretty growing flower but the end result is so much better. In the spring I do did and transplant into pots for our garden sale, but mostly yank and dispose of the left overs.

I have a hard time throwing them away