I just noticed that I had posted a couple of weeks ago in this thread that I was going to "start small" with a few wintersowing containers. Ah hem. I guess small is a relative term. Like, the 30 or so I'm going to end up with is way small compared to the amount some of you are sowing, right? Yikes.
Joanne
I've sown/winter sown.........
Absolutely miniscule :-) That was about the number I started with last year, my first year winter sowing. I've more than doubled that in this year, my second year. Now, if I double that again next year.... Yikes is right! That would be almost 135 containers.
--Ginny
I'm done! Here are my 70 containers out by the shed, along with some nice blue sky. Not much snow up here compared to last year at this time.
Sandy
Very nice - congratulations Sandy! You want some of my snow? I have a couple of extra feet I'd be willing to give away to a good home :-)
--Ginny
Wow, you all are doing a smashing job with the winter sowing! I win the award for least amount of containers sown, just 20, poo poo. But winter isn't over yet!
Oh Sandy, that picture is a lovely site.....like little soldiers lined up in the snow! And sunshine too....it's all gray here.
I don't have a holding bed but since I'm a new gardener, I still have spaces to fill. I'm glad I came into gardening at a time when the WSing buzz is catching on to help establish my garden in a very cost-effective way.
Cheers All,
Erynne
Susan,
I was wondering if you've posted your experiences with wintersowing anywhere? After planting 100's of containers, I'm thinking you know really well what works and what doesn't work in our zone. I haven't run across too many Zone 3 people doing this yet.
Joanne
Wow, Susan...300 containers! I haven't counted mine, but I'm guessing their around 30 or so, which is good as it'll be a challenge to just find room for them not to mention the zillion other things I'm growing or going to be growing :)
Steven
that's half the fun, walking around the garden, plant in hand, trying to find an empty spot to put it !!!
I'm with ya, threegardeners. My gardening style is spontaneous - I see a plant I like, I'll find a place for it in my garden. Somehow there's always room...
yep....always
Yes, I agree! Few things in my garden actualy get planned. That's the best like you said "walking around the garden, plant in hand" and after I move it 3 or 4 times, thats where it stays :)
But on the flip side, if I sow too much the extras just end up getting wasted :(
Steven
nothing ever gets wasted here....I keep a few pots of most things behind the garage....my fry truck is beside the house and the picnic tables are beside the garden....most people roam the garden while eating their fries and if they see something they like, I can easily fetch them a pot of it........or fetch the shovel and dig them a piece of it :)
Joanne - I haven't posted a lot but I have kept some records on sowing and germination dates. I don't have much other detail because once the weather is good and stuff is growing I don't have the time to sit at my computer and update. I know it is always good to get first hand accounts from people in your zone and specific area. If you are interested I could put some data together for you.
Also, have you visited wintersown.org? Lots of great information there and they are building a database by zone: http://www.wintersown.org/wseo1/DataBase.html
In our zone I do what I refer to as 'spring' (March/April) sowing for annuals that would be typically sold as bedding plants. I even did tomatoes last year for the first time. At first they were wimpy compare to the nursery plants but didn't suffer and transplant shock or slow down and soon outgrew the ones I purchased.
Susan
Thanks very much for the reply Susan. Most of the annuals I've sown so far often self seed, so I figured I was safe with those puppies. These are the rest of the annuals I still have to sow - I'm thinking maybe I should wait a bit longer based on your comments...
Four O'Clock
Dianthus T&M
Bells of Ireland
Hollyhock
Zinnia
Sanvitalia
Dahlia
Schizanthus
Lavatera
Alyssum
Poached Eggs
Stock
Lagurus ovatus (Hare's Tail Ornamental Grass)
White Pampas Grass OG
Joanne - Here's my experience with some of the things on your list.
I have winter sown many types of Dianthus and Hollyhocks at varying times and they were always successful and aren't what I would consider 'tender'. I wouldn't worry about waiting on those.
Many of the annuals will work okay sown earlier but they sprout earlier too and with our kooky weather I would rather wait and not have to worry for so long about Mr. Jack Frost touching my new sprouts. Although having been born and raised outside in the elements they are already robust enough to survive more that you would expect.
Some of those annuals sprout fast! From your list I sowed the following in the 3rd/4th week of April:
- Alyssum sprouted in 5 days
- Zinnia, Sanvitalia sprouted in 7 days
I haven't figured out Four O'Clocks - one year they sprouted in about 10 days and the next year they took at least twice as long so I might plant them ahead of some of the other annuals.
Susan
Thanks again for the advice Susan! Great to have some Zone 3 experience.
On a side note, I discovered the other day that the part of Calgary where I live (near the western city limits, higher elevation) we're Zone 2b. I'm not going to let my garden know that...LOL
Joanne
3gardeners, thats so nice how you share your plants with your customers. It must also be good for sales! :D
I'm still hoping to sow a few more things.....It's supposed to go up to 4 tomorrow :)
Maybe I'll go do them now....
Steven
Yeah, Steven, to heck with supper!
Sandy
I just did 2 more containers this aft, one of Huchera sanguinia and another of perennial geranium 'Vision Pink' and while I was trying to find a spot for the containers I stepped on a tray of WS'd basil hiding under the snow :) LOL
Steven
perennial geraniums????? oh my, aren't you a brave soul. I put them in once.......spent the next 5 years trying to get rid of the invasive little......er......you know whats :))
Never again will a perennial geranium touch my yard. Although they were pretty little flowers....but still....there's lots of pretty little flowers out there to be had.
oh..no. Were they the wild type, with those tiny pink flowers?? I've got some of G. maculatum, I just got them last year, they're wild around here. I'm not sure what species the one I'm trying now is though. There's lots of nasty dry shady conditions in the back of our yard, so if they misbehave thats going to be their naughty corner.
Steven
Final wintersowing done over the last couple of days:
White Pampas Grass
Purple Cone Flower
Shirley Poppy 'Double Mixed'
Dianthus 'Splendour Mixed'
Marigold 'Disco Mix'
Marigold 'Starfire'
Rudbeckia 'Spotlight'
Rudbeckia 'Becky Mixed'
Hollyhock 'Majorette Mixed Colors'
Four O'Clock Marvel of Peru'
Zinnia 'Diablo Mix'
Dahlia 'Unwins Mix'
Bells of Ireland
Sanvitalia 'Yellow Sprite'
Schizanthus
Lavatera 'Silvercup'
Alyssum 'Avalanche'
Poached Eggs 'Sulphur Yellow'
Stock 'Dwarf Ten Week Mixed'
Lagurus ovatus (Hare's Tail Grass)
Sweet Pea 'Pink Cupid'
Scarlet Flax
Pansy 'Show Swiss Giant'
Final container count: 40 milk jugs, one 32-cell flat.
It's been warm here over the last couple of days and it's supposed to continue to be that way for a while. The snow is melting really fast. I fear for my poor containers; the weather could easily turn really cold again in an instant.
Joanne
It is 15C here right now - it's chinooking like crazy. Hope all those little seeds don't wake up yet.
Joanne
Joanne,
I wish I could send you some snow! At least you know a chinook won't last long and I think you're doing the right thing by putting them in the shade. What are the night temps?
Sandy
Nite temps from -1C to +4C. This warm weather is supposed to continue into the next week. They're forecasting 14 to 16C for Sunday & Monday. Yikes. And of course I had to go and sow everything, even the more tender annuals....sigh.
Joanne, yeah, I guess that's why we're supposed to sow those tender ones a bit later. I sowed all mine too, but at least we have snowcover and cold temps! I'm thinking as long as you don't let the sun hit them and get overheated or dry out, you should be OK because the night temps are still cool enough. Fingers crossed. (no room in the fridge is there? lol)
Sandy
Just did more WSing today,
Larkspur 'Earl Gray'
California Poppy 'Tropical Sunset mix'
Achillea 'The Pearl'
Dahlia 'Fireworks mix'
Gaillardia 'Razzledazzle'
BTW, can it still be called winter sowing if it's done in March?
Steven
It's not spring until...what....March 20?
Your right, March 21st, I think?
............................................................Just realized thats only one week away!
Steven
Did a few more containers today:
53. Saskatoon Berry (Amelanchier alnifolia)
54. Stachys macrantha (Big Betony)
55. Jacobs Ladder 'Album' (Polemonium caeruleum)
56. Columbine 'Tequila Sunrise' (Aquilegia skinneri)
57. Scabiosa columbaria 'Nana' (Pincushion Flower)
58. Kinnikinnick/Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
59. Echium rubrum
60. Echium 'Blue Bedder'
61. Salvia coccinea 'Lady-in-Red'
62. Salvia farinacea 'Reference'
63. Monarda didyma 'Panorama Red Shades'
64. Tithonia rotundifolia 'Torch' (Mexican Sunflower)
Still waiting on an order from JL Hudson and still can't resist trading so I hope I can find the time for more sowing (even if it is 'Spring' sowing...).
Susan
Isn't anything up to about April still considered winter in your zone Susan :-) My DH comes from Sault Ste. Marie (north side of Lake Superior) and he used to tell people that asked him what the weather was like that far north that it was 11 months of winter and 1 month of tough sledding.
--Ginny
Hey Ginny - Around here it seems it could be winter at anytime during the year. It's been weird weather the past few days this week. We are having every season all packed into one day. It has been around -10 at night with snow overnight into the morning for the drive into work. Flurries gradually stopping by noon and by the late afternoon the sun is shining and it is +10!
Susan
Very strange indeed. Hopefully that will all straighten out for you soon.
--Ginny
Still sowing... I think I am finally finished with perennials and just have annuals to do over the next few weeks. Today I sowed:
65. Asclepias curassavica (Milkweed)
66. Clematis alpina 'Burford White'
67. Clematis alpina 'Ruby'
68. Iris pseudacorus (Yellow flag iris)
69. Stachys officinalis (Wood Betony)
70. Rosa chinensis (Angel Rose)
71. Blackberry Lily (Belamcanda chinensis)
72. Snowberry Hedge (Symphoricarpos albus)
73. Epilobium angustifolium (Fireweed)
74. Campanula latifolia macrantha (Giant Bellflower)
75. Campanula pyramidalis alba (White Chimney Bellflower)
76. Helenium hoopesii
77. Verbascum chaixii alba
78. Foxglove, yellow (Digitalis grandiflora)
79. Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum)
80. Agastache rugosa (Korean Mint)
81. Telekia
82. Helianthus decapetalus
83. Four O'Clocks 'Red Glow' (Mirabilis jalapa)
84. Millet 'Purple Majesty' (Pennisetum glaucum)
85. Dragon's Head (Dracocephalum moldavicum)
86. Aster chinesis 'StarLight Pink'
87. Aster chinensis 'Matsumoto Violet Striped'
88. Aster chinensis 'Seastar Mix'
89. Dianthus armeria (maybe Petrorhagia saxifraga)
90. Poppy, Yellow Field
91. Johnny Jump-Ups
92. Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis sylvatica)
Susan
Wow, thats some list Susan! What's the yellow feild poppy? I've never heard of it before...
I also sowed Clematis alpina this year, except I started it indoors....the germination instructions said it needs repeated 3 month cycles of warm and cool. Now just to be patient and wait for it to sprout.........
Steven
Steven - I got the poppy in a trade and I'm not sure what it is. I will have to wait and see or do a little research when I have some time. The lady I traded with didn't know what it was but told me she collected the seed in Scotland.
I have successfully used winter sowing for clematis alpina and tangutica the past two years. With our winter weather and chinooks I think I might just get those repeating warm and cool cycles.
Susan
Cool, I hope to see a pic of your Poppy when it blooms :) From Scotland, sounds nice.
I wish I could get those repeating warm cool cycles here, but I'll have to put mine in the fridge.
This year I've got C. tangutica 'Radar Love' WS'd, I heard it's supposed to be fairly easy to sprout.
Steven
Here's what I sowed today:
93. Clustered Bellfower
94. Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca)
95. Hyssop officinalis
96. Dames Rocket (Hesperis)
97. Hyssops, Giant Blue
98. Motherwort (Leonurus sibericus)
99. Malva, Zebra (Malva sylvestris mauritiana)
100. Amaranthus cruentus 'Split Personality'
101. Shoofly Plant, blue (Apple of Peru)
102. Burnet (Sanguisorba menziesii)
103. Burnet (Sanguisorba obtuse)
104. Salvia, purple
I ran out of time before I ran out of seeds so I will have to get to all those annuals next weekend...
Susan
Was a very appropriate day for "Winter" sowing, eh, Susan? Will it ever end??
Joanne
Don't we get most of our snow in the spring? I have a garden planting party every year on the weekend just before the May long weekend and I have cancelled a couple of times on account of snow....
Susan