Self-sowing plants can be a valuable addition to the landscape because one plant generates many more over time.
However, some self-spreaders can become nuisances if you aren’t careful.
Spreading plants can be horrors that keep coming up everywhere, are difficult to pull out, and look like weeds as they grow.
Fall blooming clematis (Clematis paniculata, C. maximonowicziana, C. terniflora, or C. dioscoreifolia) and Japanese anemone (Anemone spp.) come to mind.
Some of these plant varieties are beautiful, especially in the autumn when there is a dearth of bloom. But, in my yard, these plants grow everywhere and are near impossible to pull out completely.
If those examples are the yin, let me also offer the yang.
Here are five of my favorite self-sowers/spreaders that my garden would be poorer without.
Ostrich Fern
Some might consider the Ostrich fern one of those horror spreaders, but not me because they grow under the trees and the deer don’t eat them!
I grow sensitive fern and wood fern as well, but ostrich fern is definitely the strongest of my self-seeding ferns.
They do need to be watered during drought otherwise you end up with ugly, dry, brown hay.
Straw Foxglove
I’ve written about this foxglove before because Digitalis lutea is absolutely deer-proof. It is also a prolific self-sower and grows in dry shade. Two thumbs up!
Rose Campion
Rose campion is bright and beautiful. It is described as deer resistant, but I’ve had trouble, so it is growing inside the garden fence. I love the color of this flower, and it looks spectacular in a cut flower arrangement with blues and yellows.
Lady’s Mantle
Here’s another vigorous spreader. Lady’s mantle has a glowing chartreuse flower that looks frothy as it spreads in the spring border. The deer will sometimes eat the leaves but don’t seem to like the flowers. Hooray!
Corydalis
Yellow fumitory is my garden workhorse. It skirts the leggy roses, keeps weeds out between the peonies, shows off sunny yellow flowers and delicately cut leaves, mounds beautifully, etc., etc.
As with ostrich ferns, yellow fumitory can dry out in midsummer so be sure to supplement water as needed.
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