They seem lots thicker

==>>> they are annuals ... so they arent older.. thicker only means you had more seed heads.. and you did strew them around ... so i guess i dont know why it surprises you ...

i planted the plain old.. plain old.. about 10 years ago .. they are still around.. they get nothing from me.. except for benign neglect ... lol ... so i doubt you need to do anything ...

i surely wouldnt be out there trying to separate clumps of multiples .... unless you just want to be out there.. and experiment ... which is always a good way to learn ...

if i wanted to spread them even further.. i might take whole clumps .. and move them around .. i used to do that with all kinds of plants.. especially on rainy days ... so they would water themselves in.. i too used to have spring fever in a bad way ... lol ..

ken

Just wait until they get bigger, Faith. Then dig the ones you don't like and bring them to the swap! Or pull and toss them in the compost if you think there are too many. Are you concerned they may choke out other plants? I know can relate to that feeling.

Yes, I’m concerned that they’ll choke out other plants or even one another, perhaps? I do know that they’re super hardy, so probably more of the former and less of the latter.

Ken, I know they’re annuals and that they just seeded more heavily. I was surprised that they came in so thickly there, since In that area I had actually cut them down to shake the seed heads over my new bed (the one my husband commented on). This is my fourth year of having them, and they seem to have proliferated much more heavily this year.

I think I’ll pull them out around other plants coming in, and watch and wait for the rest. Popmama, bringing some to the Swap sounds like a plan.

Garden thugs! That's what I call those plants that proliferate and choke out their neighbors. I have a hardy geranium that is a garden thug. It's really pretty but it has no manners!