Starting your own flowers from seed is a great way to save money while still having a garden full of beautiful blooms. There are a wide range of flowers that even beginner gardeners can easily grow from seed, but that doesn’t mean seeds are the best option for growing every flower in your spring garden. Some spring blooming classics like roses and peonies should instead be purchased as bare roots or as young plants.

Considering the price difference between buying a potted plant and buying seeds, learning that roses and peonies shouldn’t be grown from seeds can be a bit of a disappointment. Of course, it’s not impossible to grow these plants from seed, and that’s where new cultivars come from. But considering the amount of time it takes for roses and peonies to mature, the difficulty of getting their seeds to germinate, the unpredictable nature of the plants grown from their seeds, and the fact that many of the popular rose and peony cultivars are sterile, it’s best to accept that some spring flowers just don’t make sense to grow from seed.

Most of the beautiful roses you see in shops and garden centers were grown from cuttings. This ensures that they are genetically identical, something that wouldn’t be the case if they were grown from seed. Many rose seeds either fail to germinate at all, or the seedlings die shortly after germination. And even if they are healthy, it can take years for the plant to mature enough to begin flowering, finally allowing you to see what its blooms look like. By purchasing your roses as a bare root or a young plant, you can be confident of your rose bush’s traits and what its flowers will look like.

If you were initially interested in growing plants from seeds as a cost saving measure, you may want to opt for bare root roses. They are generally less expensive than potted roses. However, they tend to take a bit longer to mature, so they may not be the best option for someone who wants a beautiful rose garden right away. Bare roots also need to be planted while dormant, so you’ll have to time your rose acquisition carefully. Another option is to grow your own roses from cuttings from your existing rose bushes. Just be sure to avoid taking cuttings from roses that have been patented in the last 20 years, as that is illegal. 

As with roses, you can buy your peonies either as bare roots or as potted plants. Unlike with roses, however, if you already have peonies growing in your garden, you can easily divide them to have new plants to place in other locations. Unlike some plants, peonies don’t require division to thrive. But if you do opt to divide the peonies in your garden to give yourself more plants, the best time of year for it is in late summer or early autumn. 

While growing peonies from seed may not be practical, you could consider growing flowers with similar bloom shapes from seeds. One flower that is often compared to a peony is the beautiful carnation. Carnations are easy to start from seed and will generally mature and start giving you stunning flowers within a few months. While they might not be the exact same, they can certainly bring a similarly refreshing touch to your garden with much less effort.