Hardy/tender annuals, half hardy/hardy perennials WS when??

I forgot to say that the above pink hellebore started blooming in early January and this purple one was out in late Jan.

Hey I thought I'd add that some more of my seeds germinated. The Centaurea 'Black Ball have their 2nd set of leaves, nepeta cataria, Johnny Jump Ups, Delphium Pacific Giant, Royal sweet peas all germinated at least some of the seeds. Nasturtiums were unfolding today. And I put Dahlia Stargazer in a plastic bag in the garage in front of a window and a few were germinated today.
I love that cold frame - thats about my speed too! I may do that for my dahlia tubers that I potted today just to have a place that I don't have to keep carrying them in and out of the garage.

alyrics:

Beautiful Hellebores! I especially love that pink one!! Did you grow it from seed or did you buy a plant? I started Hellebore seeds last Summer and they haven't germinated yet. I'm not concerned....tap, tap, tapping fingers.

Congrats on all your other WS seeds that are germinating too!

I love hellebores - they make me happy in the off times of the yr. When nothing else is going on I can still go in the garden in my jammies with a cup of coffee and walk around and look at flowers in the snow. I'm cold hardy too. I got these divisions from someone about 4-5 years ago. I have never tried them from seed although I have just 1 seedling that germinated on its own in the garden last yr - this is its 2nd yr and its put out new leaves this spring. I'd love it if more germinated on their own because I do let them go to seed. Right now I'm having a problem with some kind of a fungal or viral disease on my biggest hellebores in another area of the garden so I'm very reluctant to do more until I get more information on what to do with them.

Yes - on those seedlings now I'm wondering what to do about the fact that we are going away for spring break. I suppose I could put them all in the bath tub but that would sort of wreck their cold tolerance I would think.

Don't bring them inside! They are already hardy, you just want to protect them from the drying affects of the sun. During the time you are away from home, you can put your containers in a more shade protected area or have a neighbor's kid come over and water them......carefully! I would show them specifically how you would want them cared for.

I have just loved doing this WS! I think I am hooked. I worked all through college at the Univ greenhouses and took care of grad students research plants and propagated this and that. I just like making more plants never mind if I don't need them. Thanks to Trudi wherever you are for publishing that Wintersowing website.

I am just learning about winter sowing...I am the newest of the new...hence will ask ditzy questions.

1. is it too late to plant cosmos and zinnias in a milkjugs and set them in a sunny spot by the house?
2. should I put them in the cold frame instead?
3. should I direct sow them in the garden instead?

Why, if you can do the above, does the package say wait to sow until all danger of frost is past or sow inside under lights?

....told you I was new at this...am intrigued after reading this forum.....HM

Your education has to begin with : http://www.wintersown.org/
A woman named Trudi Davidoff ( I went and looked up her name!) is the WS goddess. I don't know if she originated the idea but she wrote a website about wintersowing and it has really taken off.
It makes good sense - seeds germinate in the garden, why not just contain them in one place to plant them out later? The beauty of WS is that the seedlings are already hardened off - there is no need to wait till frost dates are over to sow seed. I imagine we will all be able to tell of seeds that didn't WS very well, but so far - and I am only 2 months more experienced than you - LOL - so good.

I WS'd 15 containers on Feb 25th after reading this forum and with the exception of herbs and vegetables I think I now have germination in everything including dahlias and nasturtium. We had snow last night and below freezing temp the night before and all seedlings were just fine. I've come out to see ice all over the outside of the container and the little seedlings inside are fine and dandy - it is truly amazing.

Some of the people on this forum as you've no doubt read, have many many containers planted and they are more experienced than I, but it is so easy I really think anybody could do this.

I think someone answered your question about whether its too late for this year by saying that as long as you require a jacket at night for comfort its probably not too late.

I haven't even started my zinnia and cosmos yet altho I might do it today, because I can't plant out till the end of May and they grow so fast. There was one other post that was very helpful and that was to use a container that allows you at least 4" of soil. When the seedlings take off and you haven't planted out yet they will begin to dry out apparently and you will have a harder time keeping them watered if the soil is too shallow. I have found that most things germinated better if they are covered to create a mini greenhouse effect. I did containers both ways - open and covered. I used clear plastic bags of whatever was available and just bagged 4" pots and punched holes in the bag after it was twist-tied or zipped. I had germination on marigold seedlings doing this when we were getting freezing temps every night.

One thing a friend of mine told me from last year was that she did not get germination in any container that had not been sterilized and that was the only problem she had. I soaked all my containers in bleach water for 24 hours and additionally turned my bags inside out and left them in bleach water for maybe 20-30 mins before using.

A

alyrics-- very interesting about your friend not getting germination in non sterilized containers...mmmm....now I'm worrying about that! For as easy as WSing is supposed to be, I sure do find a lot to 'fret' about!

Just wish I had more seedlings showing--and I am south of you, alyrics-- but my containers do not get a lot of sun and I think I must move them soon.

I didn't sterilize any containers but I've had teriffic germination so far. In fact many containers, like pop bottles, I just rinsed out- didn't even use soap and water

Karen

HM,
Alyrics has given you great advice please check out Trudi's site it is full of fantastic info on this process. This is my 3rd winter doing this and I absolutely love it and tell all my gardening friends about it. I generally start in January but this year was a weird winter and I didn't start my containers until mid March. I have germination already in quite a few containers. I also just finished doing more this past week.

Tab
I have never sterilized any of my containers just gave them a good rinse with dish soap and water. I haven't had any problem with germination.

Michelle

Well - thanks to all...I'm on my way and will start zinnias, cosmos and nasturtiums today. Good things my boys drink a lot of milk, huh. While it is too late this year to do a massive planting...I have a 16" deep clear plastic bin in the shed that is 18" wide and 3'long. I think I'll plan on using that next year and use an old window over the top of it and sow "rows". My good friend spends a fortune on dahlia tubers. We are going to try dahlia seeds as well next year.

Thanks to all....I'll let you know how it goes. HM

Alyrics - ps - thanks for the link to wintersown.org. HM

Trudi Davidoff's site and basic WS starter info should really be put in a 'sticky' thread for handy quick reference --- it's so full of good tips and pics on how to get started and the philosophy/theory behind the whole concept.

But I don't know how to make a 'sticky'--does anybody else?

Dave or Trish have to do it..I'm not sure that they will. There have been some 'discussions' between Trudi and Them regarding wintersowing. I think you can consider that a closed subject.

T: Good idea. I think Dave or Terry have to make "stickies". Maybe you could D-mail one of them and ask?

Karen

Now that I think about it I wonder if she had damping off of the seedlings if she didn't sterilize? I know she was growing dahlias - maybe they are more sensitive, I don't know. I just went ahead and put water in each container and a little splash of bleach and let them sit. I did a plastic trash can full of 4" pots early on. Maybe its not an issue for you but we have raccoons, skunks and opossums who are always around at night. If I didn't wash and sterilize they would tear everything up - they did 2 nights in a row back in March when I used a bread bag without washing it thoroughly.

HM - I was going to tell you that my friend sowed dahlia seeds 2 ways - 1 each into leftover sterilized 6-packs from annuals, and lightly sown over a foil roasting pan, put into a large ziplock bag, and then set on the shelf of a portable greenhouse. She sowed March 15th and you remember what a long winter we had last year - ending with 10" of snow on May 1 for us. She said she only did 10 seeds in the roasting pan and spaced them so she wouldn't have crowded seedlings to thin or snip off. Because they were so thinly sown she never potted up - just put them out in the garden when they were about 6" high. I gather they germinated and grew both ways but if you are doing a lot it might be easier to give each seed its own cell so if something happens you don't have a giant container to deal with.

I sowed dahlias on Feb 25th and March 12th but did not get germination until I brought them into the garage in front of a window and put plastic bags around the containers. We are zone 5 and I think its too cold for germination outside for dahlias, but the garage traps enough warmth to make it happen. I have a 2-25 container of Cerinthe major outside that hasn't germinated, but the March12 container in the garage just germinated a couple days ago. Your cold frame might make a difference for you.
Last, I can see a difference in types also. I bought Unwins dwarf dahlia mix - small container dahlias and they germinated readily and quickly. The D. Stargazers don't have as good a germination rate so far and didn't show till they got into the garage. But anything to get blooms before August - which is what I had last year. The show really got started in September and continued till frost, but I'd like to have dahlias blooming earlier so....

Yes, T. Davidoff has strong opinions and perhaps it would be better to just create our own Wintersowing basics sticky--but I don't have enough experience to take on the project....but maybe there is a WS basics thread here already that could be 'stickied'?

t: I don't understand. Why not ask Dave about a "sticky" with a link to wintersown.org ? I don't think Trudi would object to that. I think she just doesn't like it when people copy her stuff and post it as their own original content. I don't think she would object to a link to her site.Sorry, I just didn't follow what you were saying.

Karen

You can search the original threads in this winter sowing forum and see the discourse of things said between Trudi and the moderator. She had some strong feelings..

Anyway, my feeling is that anyone coming on board that seriously wants to wintersow will catch on pretty quick by reading the existing threads and asking questions.

Susan

I had great success so far with my Dahlia seedlings. I'll know for sure once they are planted in the ground. I just love this. I am saving so much money this spring!!!

If anyone wants fresh hellebore seed, you can dmail me around the end of May - we often get some seed on our plants about then.

Thanks for this thread - very informative.

Bluespiral

I am new to Hellebores and interested in seeds....do I plant them right away in May/June? HM