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I came across this article that I had copied and pasted entitled, "The Easiest Seeds to Start" I thought somebody might benefit from this. Feel free to add your own to the list.
The Easiest Seeds to Start
http://www.bhg.com/gardening/yard/garde 1744223044
We've put together our list of the easiest annuals to grow from seed.
Bachelor's Button
A charming annual that blooms in shades of blue, pink, and purple, bachelor's button is a great choice for hot, dry sites. The flowers are perfect for cut- and dried-flower bouquets.
Most commonly found with blue fringe-petaled flowers, these graceful, easy-to-grow plants are an old-fashioned favorite. Flowers also have been developed in shades of pink, white, red, and lavender. Plants average 1 to 3 feet tall with fine, lacy, light-green or gray-green foliage. Popular varieties include 'Blue Boy,' 'Pinkie, Snowman,' 'Jubilee Gem,' and 'Red Boy.' A perennial type of cornflower is also available, but its flowers aren t as large and showy as the annual types and it s not nearly as good for cutting.
Keep faded flowers snipped to encourage continuous bloom. Plants show well in massed groupings since individuals are fine-textured and graceful. Use flowers in fresh arrangements, or hang to dry.
Castor Bean
This plant will amaze your friends. A fast-growing, warm-weather-loving species, a single castor bean seed can grow into a 15-foot-tall specimen by the end of the season -- even in northern Zones.
Note: All parts of the castor bean plant are extremely poisonous.
Looking like they belong in the tropics, these exotic plants often grow to 10 feet in one season. Each palmlike leaf may be 1 to 3 feet in length. On some varieties, the leaves will change from red to brown or green as they grow older. These are sometimes called castor oil plants or 'palm Christi.' Flowers are nearly hidden by the foliage, appearing on the top and side stems of plants as reddish-brown clusters with no petals.
Castor beans make an excellent choice for a quick-growing, background screen that may last for several years in mild climates. Seed pods are poisonous and should be clipped before they mature, especially if plants are in an area where children may be playing. Be aware, also, that some people are allergic to both the seed pods and foliage. Plants are grown commercially in India for castor oil.
Cleome
A perfect cottage-garden plant, cleome bears spikes of fragrant flowers in shades of white, pink, magenta, and purple. It's so easy, it practically starts itself -- in fact, in many gardens it self-seeds year after year.
Starting Tips: Spread seeds over the ground; they usually don't need to be covered. Cleome seeds typically sprout in one to two weeks.
Cleome is a tall plant with an unusual appearance and a pungent scent that some people find disagreeable but others enjoy. At the end of each 3- or 6-foot stem is a rounded flower cluster measuring about 8 inches across. Long, thread-like stamens and pistils extend from the pink, rose, orchid, or white flower clusters. As the flower matures, slender seed pods dangle on 4-inch wiry stems, looking very much like spider legs and giving the plant its common name. Flowers appear continuously, usually from June through August. Three of the most commonly found varieties are 'Ruby Queen,' 'Helen Campbell,' and 'Rose Queen.'
Most people prefer to use cleome as background or screen plantings, especially along a fence or wall. Flowers show up well at a distance, and the strong scent is not as noticeable. They also may be used in tubs, in massed plantings on banks, or in front of tall shrubs. Seed pods add a handsome touch to dried arrangements.
Cosmos
Another must-have annual for sunny cottage gardens, cosmos offers ferny foliage and daisy-like flowers in shades of pink, magenta, white, yellow, and orange. The plants don't mind hot, dry locations, so they're ideal for low-maintenance gardens, too. And they often self-seed.
Wide, serrated petals in shades of pink, rose, yellow, red, and lavender surround a yellow-gold center to form these delicate 3- to 4-inch flowers. Foliage is lacy and fernlike, adding to the airy quality of the plants -- even though they average 4 to 6 feet tall. Common single- and double-flowering varieties include 'Dazzler,' 'Radiance,' 'Sensation,' 'Bright Lights,' and 'Diablo.'
Cut flowers, combined with a little foliage, make a delightful bouquet.
Hyacinth Bean
This spectacular but underused vine is a snap to start. Grow it in a sunny spot and be sure to give it a sturdy support on which to climb. Hyacinth bean can grow more than 10 feet by the end of the season.
Larkspur
Larkspur lights up the spring or fall garden with its spikes of blue, lavender, pink, or white flowers. This garden beauty often self-seeds, coming back each year all on its own.
Marigold
It's hard not to love a marigold's bright yellow, orange, and red flowers. Happily, this is one of the easiest seeds to grow.
You can sow marigolds directly into the garden. They usually sprout in less than a week.
Morning Glory
One of the best annual vines, morning glory blooms in shades of blue, pink, white, and red. It's earned its common name because the flowers tend to close by noon, especially in hot weather.
Moss Rose
Moss rose is a perfect little ground cover for hot, dry spots. It forms a mat of needle-like foliage and cup-shape flowers in bright shades of yellow, orange, pink, and white. Moss rose often self-seeds in the garden.
Nasturtium
Nasturtium offers tidy mounds of foliage and cheery blooms in shades of yellow, orange, red, and crimson.
Sunflower
What would summer be without cheery sunflowers? While the big yellow varieties with brown centers are the best known, today there's an array of choices that includes orange, red, brown, and bicolored blooms. They're not all giants, either; dwarf varieties fit in virtually any sunny spot.
Starting Tips: Sunflowers don't like to be transplanted, so it's best to start them directly in the garden. They usually sprout in about a week after planting.
Zinnia
Like many other warm-season annuals, zinnia is so fast-sprouting and easy to grow that you don't usually need to start them indoors. The plants offer a wide range of flower colors and forms, as well as heights.
The Easiest Seeds to Start
http://www.bhg.com/gardening/yard/garde 1744223044
We've put together our list of the easiest annuals to grow from seed.
Bachelor's Button
A charming annual that blooms in shades of blue, pink, and purple, bachelor's button is a great choice for hot, dry sites. The flowers are perfect for cut- and dried-flower bouquets.
Most commonly found with blue fringe-petaled flowers, these graceful, easy-to-grow plants are an old-fashioned favorite. Flowers also have been developed in shades of pink, white, red, and lavender. Plants average 1 to 3 feet tall with fine, lacy, light-green or gray-green foliage. Popular varieties include 'Blue Boy,' 'Pinkie, Snowman,' 'Jubilee Gem,' and 'Red Boy.' A perennial type of cornflower is also available, but its flowers aren t as large and showy as the annual types and it s not nearly as good for cutting.
Keep faded flowers snipped to encourage continuous bloom. Plants show well in massed groupings since individuals are fine-textured and graceful. Use flowers in fresh arrangements, or hang to dry.
Castor Bean
This plant will amaze your friends. A fast-growing, warm-weather-loving species, a single castor bean seed can grow into a 15-foot-tall specimen by the end of the season -- even in northern Zones.
Note: All parts of the castor bean plant are extremely poisonous.
Looking like they belong in the tropics, these exotic plants often grow to 10 feet in one season. Each palmlike leaf may be 1 to 3 feet in length. On some varieties, the leaves will change from red to brown or green as they grow older. These are sometimes called castor oil plants or 'palm Christi.' Flowers are nearly hidden by the foliage, appearing on the top and side stems of plants as reddish-brown clusters with no petals.
Castor beans make an excellent choice for a quick-growing, background screen that may last for several years in mild climates. Seed pods are poisonous and should be clipped before they mature, especially if plants are in an area where children may be playing. Be aware, also, that some people are allergic to both the seed pods and foliage. Plants are grown commercially in India for castor oil.
Cleome
A perfect cottage-garden plant, cleome bears spikes of fragrant flowers in shades of white, pink, magenta, and purple. It's so easy, it practically starts itself -- in fact, in many gardens it self-seeds year after year.
Starting Tips: Spread seeds over the ground; they usually don't need to be covered. Cleome seeds typically sprout in one to two weeks.
Cleome is a tall plant with an unusual appearance and a pungent scent that some people find disagreeable but others enjoy. At the end of each 3- or 6-foot stem is a rounded flower cluster measuring about 8 inches across. Long, thread-like stamens and pistils extend from the pink, rose, orchid, or white flower clusters. As the flower matures, slender seed pods dangle on 4-inch wiry stems, looking very much like spider legs and giving the plant its common name. Flowers appear continuously, usually from June through August. Three of the most commonly found varieties are 'Ruby Queen,' 'Helen Campbell,' and 'Rose Queen.'
Most people prefer to use cleome as background or screen plantings, especially along a fence or wall. Flowers show up well at a distance, and the strong scent is not as noticeable. They also may be used in tubs, in massed plantings on banks, or in front of tall shrubs. Seed pods add a handsome touch to dried arrangements.
Cosmos
Another must-have annual for sunny cottage gardens, cosmos offers ferny foliage and daisy-like flowers in shades of pink, magenta, white, yellow, and orange. The plants don't mind hot, dry locations, so they're ideal for low-maintenance gardens, too. And they often self-seed.
Wide, serrated petals in shades of pink, rose, yellow, red, and lavender surround a yellow-gold center to form these delicate 3- to 4-inch flowers. Foliage is lacy and fernlike, adding to the airy quality of the plants -- even though they average 4 to 6 feet tall. Common single- and double-flowering varieties include 'Dazzler,' 'Radiance,' 'Sensation,' 'Bright Lights,' and 'Diablo.'
Cut flowers, combined with a little foliage, make a delightful bouquet.
Hyacinth Bean
This spectacular but underused vine is a snap to start. Grow it in a sunny spot and be sure to give it a sturdy support on which to climb. Hyacinth bean can grow more than 10 feet by the end of the season.
Larkspur
Larkspur lights up the spring or fall garden with its spikes of blue, lavender, pink, or white flowers. This garden beauty often self-seeds, coming back each year all on its own.
Marigold
It's hard not to love a marigold's bright yellow, orange, and red flowers. Happily, this is one of the easiest seeds to grow.
You can sow marigolds directly into the garden. They usually sprout in less than a week.
Morning Glory
One of the best annual vines, morning glory blooms in shades of blue, pink, white, and red. It's earned its common name because the flowers tend to close by noon, especially in hot weather.
Moss Rose
Moss rose is a perfect little ground cover for hot, dry spots. It forms a mat of needle-like foliage and cup-shape flowers in bright shades of yellow, orange, pink, and white. Moss rose often self-seeds in the garden.
Nasturtium
Nasturtium offers tidy mounds of foliage and cheery blooms in shades of yellow, orange, red, and crimson.
Sunflower
What would summer be without cheery sunflowers? While the big yellow varieties with brown centers are the best known, today there's an array of choices that includes orange, red, brown, and bicolored blooms. They're not all giants, either; dwarf varieties fit in virtually any sunny spot.
Starting Tips: Sunflowers don't like to be transplanted, so it's best to start them directly in the garden. They usually sprout in about a week after planting.
Zinnia
Like many other warm-season annuals, zinnia is so fast-sprouting and easy to grow that you don't usually need to start them indoors. The plants offer a wide range of flower colors and forms, as well as heights.
