Pulsatilla - wintersow or direct sow?

I need some advice from experienced people. I have lots of Pulsatilla vulgaris seeds, and it is a plant that's native to my area. I don't want to sow them indoors. Should I try winter sowing them? Or is it too late in the season? Can I direct sow them this spring (when)? Or would I have better luck direct sowing in fall?

I would say sow now, in pots. I have never found them that easy to germinate - my seeds did come up, but took a double vernalisation. But then our winters are a tad milder than yours.

My suggestion is to use the wintersowing technique (in pots with some sort of covering -I would suggest a coldframe if you have one). Once the temps warm up to about 15 degrees C you should get germination within 1-6 months. With Montana winter weather still holding in there, you may only need one period of cold.

Good luck - they are a wonderful plant, and worth waiting for.

Thanks, Laurie. As for winter weather, our high yesterday was about 15 C (60 F)! And it's warmer today. It's always been yoyo weather (freeze-thaw-freeze-thaw), but not generally this warm in March. This is more of an April or May temperature. Nonetheless, if I wintersow now, there will be more than one cold spell. We just can't say how long they'll be!