The easiest flower to start from seed

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Alyssum appears to be the clear winner in my *easiest to start by seed* experiment here at The Tropical Paradise. The seeds sprouted in only two days and are going strong in the little Burpee 36-cell greenhouse which I ordered on Amazon. In the past couple of weeks I have also planted seeds of Petunias, Coleus, and Snapdragon. The competition may be unfair as the alyssum seeds were the only ones who got the luxury of sprouting in the little greenhouse. The other seeds are out in the garden, either directly-sown, or are in tiny pots.

It doesn't surprise me that the alyssum is doing so well. I've seen it reseed itself from growing plants, and I've read that in some parts of the country, it is considered an invasive weed. Here at The Tropical Paradise I've grown a lot of alyssum, but always from seedlings, and it does well in the winter in sunny areas, and like all annuals, it dies in the summer here. In a small garden like mine, when the alyssum has grown to a nice size, you can smell the fragrance.

The seeds are from Ferry-Morse, a very respectable company. Although I don't know anything about seeds, I'm thinking that choosing a good brand name and ordering the seeds fresh is better than trying to get them at *The Dollar Store* to save 79 cents. The logo on the packet says, *since 1856*, which was before the Civil War - hey, I think that I was just a kid back then!

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