Southerners: Direct Sow, Start Indoors or Buy Transplants?

Dear Southern Gardeners,

I'm trying to decide which of my list of flowers to direct sow, start indoors under lights or wait and buy transplants. Right now I am sitting here with my spring garden wish list, a seed catalog, Doug Welsh's TX Gardening Almanac, PlantFiles on "speed dial," a cup of strong tea and I'm more confused than when I started.

I'm getting conflicting info from all three sources and I would love to add your seasoned advice into the mix before I place my seed order. I'm in Zone 8a near Dallas, TX.

What should I direct sow, what should I start inside under lights, and what would I be better off just waiting to buy at the nursery? Also, is it too late to direct sow the wildflowers on this list? My book says I ought to have done it in the Fall.

Here is my list:

Gaillardia Arizona Sun
Butterfly Weed
Gazania (perennial)
Nasturtium
Catmint
Rudbeckia Cappuccino
Salvia Fairy Queen
Shasta Crazy Daisy

Thank you for your kind help!

GreenerBeaner
(cross posted on Texas Gardening Forum)

Here's the link to my winter sowing journel. Hope it helps you out. I WS in a unheated greenhouse.

http://davesgarden.com/community/journals/vbc/bigred/83632/

Peggy

Wow!! That's a lot of WSing. Great!

Only the tip of the ice burg...LOL. Still lots to sow.

Thank you so much for your response, Bigred! I actually Winter Sowed 30 or so milk jugs last year but with very poor results, which I'm sure were due to "user error" on my part or my own local weather conditions. This year I was hoping to get back to either starting seeds indoors under lights or sowing them directly into the garden soil, but since I haven't done these plants before, I was looking for some advice on what to start indoors and what to direct sow.

Thankfully, I've gotten some great advice from some TX locals and Mr. MitchF, so I will consider this question closed. Thanks for your help, though, and good luck with your winter sowing this year!

GreenerBeaner

GreenerBeaner,

Can I put in my 2 cents?

I am not a southerner, and I have never winter sowed. However, I would think that you could winter sow all of the ones you listed. I am going to winter sow for the first time this year.

The seeds I am going to sow indoors will be petunias, tropicals, begonias, etc.

I have started all of the seeds above without winter sowing. Except for the Catmint (never grown). But they germinated without any type of cold treatment. Although I would say the Crazy Daisy will give you more results if cold treated. Hope this little bit helps...

I have better luck with WS than the heat mat and grow lights. Wished I hadn't wasted money on them and bought more seeds instead*G*.
Case in point....I sowed gold leaf 4get-me-nots and some fancy hardy geraniums under light on the heat mat and some unkwn/NOIDS hardy geranium seeds in the unheated greenhouse a week later. A couple of the 4get-me-nots sprouted but none of the geraniums. Meanwhile the NOIDS in the GH sown a week later are sprouting like crazy so I moved the trays off the mat and into the GH a 2-3 days ago and the 4get-me-nots started sprouting like crazy. Nothing on the geraniums yet but I'm still hopeful.

Jnette: Thank you for your two cents! I'll take them any time. I hope you have a great season Winter Sowing! It was wonderful watching other folks on the WSing thread watch their little "seed babies" come up one by one. I was so looking forward to using such a logical, economical and awesome-science-fair-project-esque system, I was broken hearted when nothing turned out for me, so I need a year off. I love the idea of WSing, and I will probably try it again in the future.

Bigred: Hopefully I can remember where to find your WSing journal again if I decide to give WSing another go! I already had the light system from starting veggies indoors, so at least that won't be an extra cost for me. Good luck this year with your crop!

Kim_M: Thanks for your experience with Crazy Daisies. Did you just put the seeds in the fridge or did you put them in some sort of growing medium first? Thanks!

GreenerBeaner

Green,
you can go to tabs at top ,click on "Communities" then click on "Gardening Journels" to find mine or anyone elses Journels.

P

I use vermiculite to germinate most of my seeds. I did not put them in the fridge but the crazy Daisies give you better results if cold treated. They will germinate without cold treatment but need more moisture to do so. I'm writing a Blog on some things like this upcoming week. If you want to check it out feel free http://uniqueseeds.blogspot.com/

Jnette,

Have you already sowed your petunias? I have never grown them from seed before, and I read that they take a long time.

I have not W/S'd either, but I have direct sowed hardy annuals before. Can I just sow these outside, or in cell packs? Is it better to sow them wrapped in plastic until they germinate, then prick them out into cell-packs? I have accumulated a lot of seeds this year, as well I will be attempting to germinate old seeds as well. I want to clean out my seed box (aka. large tote). I have separated them into what seem to be there start dates, though I have hardy annuals in there like cornflowers. Before I have direct-sowed them, and I actually did some this last fall, and they are starting with their rosettes. Can I prick out the thinnings before they get big? Not right now, of course, as it is pouring down rain. (This will be the first year that I can remember that California has been out of drought!)

Thanks for your assistance!

Evelyn

Evelyn, No, I have not sowed my petunias yet. I sow them in individual cells in flats sin the house, on heat mats, under domes under florescent lights. They do not take long. I used to plant them in mid Feb. but by the time I could put them outside, they were crowded and blooming. So, I waited this year, and this year is so nice here in the PNW that I probably could put them out earlier than normal. But, I won't. I up-pot into 3 1/2 inch pots. I use tweezers and nip out the center 2 leaves a couple of times, depending on how much time I have. At least once.

No, under these conditions there is no way they can do anything but germinate. LOL

I also start verbena the same way. Begonias, and some others the same. Can't think of them right now.

Wow, I'm surprised ya'll could wintersow Gazania - I thought they were semi-tropical.

Thank jnette. I had better get with the hardy annuals and start with a few tomatoes, then I'll do some petunias. I just wasn't sure if it was too early to start petunias. I was going to start them in the plastic containers, wrapped in plastic, then transfer them to cell packs once they got true leaves. then grow them on cool, eventually transferring them to outdoor temps. Is it too early to start them this way? I can wait a couple of weeks as I have a limited area for starting with heat...just a four foot shelf with a 3' window. I just have a goose-neck lamp with CFL, as well as one that is a clip-on the windowsill. There is an eastern exposure with good bright light throughout the day as well.