Does anyone know if it’s theoretically possible to have a turf grass seed mix that includes Spring Beauty and Blue Violet seeds? If there were such a mix, is it possible to have the lawn subsequently treated in a somewhat traditional manner but without whatever chemicals that would otherwise kill the Claytonia and Viola? The only reason I ask is that this would be incrementally better than the status quo (especially for public parks that include sod). I occasionally see both Claytonia and Viola occurring in numbers in turf grass that appears to be treated (although probably not aggressively treated).
- Accidentally posted in general instead of nature talk. And then tried to delete it and move it over but couldn’t figure out how to do it. My mistake, ugh.
Chances are a moderator will move the thread over for you. As to your question, does “treated in a somewhat traditional manner” mean mowing or other things in addition to that? I have lots of blue violets in my lawn and they survive mowing just fine and are thriving. I never sowed any, they just volunteered, mostly in the shady parts. I haven’t had any luck with spring beauty but the one I tried was Claytonia caroliniana. I’ve seen C. virginica in mowed lawns.
I don’t think a seed mix combining these would work due to the differences in germination requirements. Turf grass seed is stored dry and sown onto warm soil after the last frost. Blue violet seeds need moist cold stratification for several weeks to break dormancy. By the time they germinate, your turf grass seeds are probably moldy and won’t germinate any more. So you can’t really treat and/or sow them at the same time. Spring beauties don’t play well with either as they germinate best when the seeds are kept moist and not allowed to dry out. They also require double-stratification (cold-warm-cold treatment) and in nature will take two years to germinate.
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