Q:  How long do wildflower seeds take to germinate?

A: Some wildflower seeds generally germinate very readily and easily. Species such as kidney vetch and Birdsfoot trefoil often take only 2 or 3 days to emerge.
Unlike some ordinary flower seeds however, wildflower seeds have not been genetically modified by humans for easy germination and as such there are a few varieties that are notoriously difficult to grow. In fact, some wildflowers seeds have built in mechanisms designed to prevent them from germinating until conditions are right and it is not uncommon for a few species to take 2 or even 3 seasons to germinate. There are however 2 forms of treatment that can be used to speed up the germination process in certain species namely scarification and stratification (sometimes referred to as vernalisation) and this is dealt with as a separate question. If you find your wildflowers not geminating, the golden rule is not to give up on a tray of seed that you have sown. If  Wildflower seed has failed to germinate within the warm conditions of a greenhouse or cold frame then move the tray outside over winter, and keep the compost moist. Here the weather should help to break down the  outer coating of the wilflower seeds thus increasing the chances of successful germination.