Emily Flores
Have you ever tried to grow mint in your kitchen sill and wondered why it’s not working out? You bought the seeds, prepped the soil, followed every step—and still, nothing. That’s because no matter how careful you are, some plants take forever to sprout from the seed or simply refuse to thrive. Here are 20 plants that will give you a lot of trouble.
Fruit Trees (e.g., Apple, Cherry)
Fruit tree seeds carry very different genes, which means they cannot reliably reproduce the parent fruit. For instance, an apple seed often yields a tree with poor fruit quality. To get consistent, delicious fruit, growers attach a piece of the desired tree onto a root base (grafting). This speeds up growth and guarantees the fruit type.
Lavender
Lavender seeds are known for low and unpredictable germination rates. They require very specific, consistently warm conditions to sprout. Experienced gardeners often skip the complex seed-starting process entirely. Instead, select a hardy plant or a cutting as they provide a much faster, more reliable path to success for those fragrant stems.
Hydrangea
If you want beautiful hydrangea flowers, starting from seed means waiting a long time—often two or three years before the first bloom. The flowers might also turn out looking very different from the plant you wanted. But buying a potted plant or using softwood cuttings gives you the reliable, beautiful blossoms you expect, much sooner.
Hosta
The main problem with hosta seeds is their unpredictable genetics. The new plants rarely look like the colorful, patterned parent plant you love. Hosta also takes a long time to get big from seed. The best solution is dividing a mature clump, which guarantees the look you want and gives you faster results.
Peony
Planting a peony seed starts a very long process. It needs months of cold temperatures just to sprout in the second spring. After that, you must wait another three to six years for the plant to fully grow and finally produce a flower. You won’t know the bloom’s exact color or shape until then.
Rose
Growing roses from seed is difficult for three reasons: the offspring won’t look like the parent, the seeds take months just to sprout, and they require cold treatment to germinate. Professional growers avoid these struggles and instead use grafting or cuttings to avoid uncertainty and guarantee the rose variety they intend to cultivate.
Orchid
Orchids have some of the world’s tiniest seeds, and they need help to grow by partnering with a special fungus just to start sprouting. That’s why seed propagation is notoriously tricky with this flower. So, most gardeners skip it altogether and stick to mature plants or divisions—methods that don’t require sterile, high-maintenance environments.
Fuchsia
Don’t assume fuchsia seeds are an easy project. They need perfect, constant warmth and moisture and are very slow to sprout. Worse, the flowers look nothing like the plant they came from. A simple cutting offers a more dependable method and guarantees the kind of vibrant blooms that hummingbirds love.
Daylily
Starting daylilies from seed means waiting several years for flowers whose unknown flower features may not match the parent. Try splitting up mature clumps because that method has worked well for many gardeners. It brings much faster results with guaranteed characteristics and a track record of success.
Begonia
Begonias create a great impression with their bright leaves and stunning flowers. However, starting from their tiny, dust-like seeds is highly inefficient, as they take a very long time to reach flowering size. The quickest way to get beautiful results is by using leaf or stem cuttings.
Dahlia
It’s a common mistake to plant dahlia seeds with high hopes, only to find the flowers look nothing like the originals. These beautiful flowers, native to Mexico, grow best from tubers. Planting a tuber gives you reliable blooms and the benefit of being able to dig it up and store it for guaranteed growth next season, too.
Mint
Mint doesn’t follow rules when it comes to flavor. Starting from seed is unpredictable, and the results rarely match the classic taste gardeners expect. For reliable flavor, most turn to root division or cutting methods that take advantage of mint’s natural spread and guarantee consistency.
Strawberry
It is unique that strawberries have their seeds on the outside. But here’s the catch: those seeds rarely grow into plants that make fruit like the parent. The plant uses a better system: it sends out stems called runners that root and create a perfect copy. Letting the runners do the work is the only way to guarantee consistent, delicious fruit.
Camellia
Camellias are sought after for their attractive flowers and glossy, green leaves. Starting them from seed is risky; the seeds need specific conditions, sprout slowly, and the resulting flower may not look like the original plant. Experienced growers stick to reliable methods, like using cuttings or attaching pieces for guaranteed success.
Bamboo
For gardeners wanting to grow bamboo, using traditional seeds is simply impractical. Seeds are hard to find and take a long time to sprout, with some types only flowering once in many decades. This is why successful growers rely entirely on splitting established bamboo clumps to quickly and effectively cultivate the plant.
Geranium
The popular flowers sold as geraniums are actually Pelargoniums, whose leaves smell great. To get plants that look the same and grow reliably, most successful gardeners choose to grow them using stem cuttings rather than waiting for seeds, because then, they sprout erratically.
Rhubarb
Before growing rhubarb, remember the leaves are poisonous and must never be eaten. The safe, fast method for cultivation involves dividing a mature crown instead of planting seeds. Seeds take several years to mature enough for harvest. Crown division is the reliable shortcut to getting those tart, edible stalks for cooking.
Blueberry
A strange natural fact about blueberries is that plants grown from their seeds may produce fruit that tastes or looks very different from the parent. Commercial farms must use cutting propagation to keep their quality consistent. These native berries also need acidic soil, a condition that cuttings make easier to manage.
Carnation
Carnations are widely loved for their pleasant, spicy smell and long vase life. However, starting these flowers from seed often tests your patience, as they frequently fail to produce a single flower during their first year outdoors. Professional growers simply use cuttings to ensure they get reliable blooms without the long wait.
Lily
Growing from seed would delay lilies from flowering for multiple years, which is too slow for commercial production timelines. Lilies are highly valued for their striking flowers in gardens and for the perfume industry. And this demand means growers need efficient methods, so they always use bulbs and bulb scales in place of seeds.