Some questions on winter sowing

Okay, I've been thinking about winter sowing for a couple years after reading all about it here. But, as usual, I wait until it's too late or get too busy. ;o(

So one question I have is about winter sowing zinnias. If I winter sow zinnias, will I have beautiful zinnias blooming all summer like when I buy the little six pack plants at the nursery? Or will the winter sown be behind the six pack grown in blooming? Hope this isn't a dumb question. But I get nervous thinking about even trying this. Would it be better to winter sow them or just put the seeds directly in the ground when all danger of frost is gone? And would the winter sown bloom before the direct sown or the other way around?

Sorry for so many questions, but I'm not sure I understand it all that well. And I'm asking because I've read alot, but still have questions. I feel it might help me to actually be able to ask and get real answers instead of just reading without any input coming back.

So I'm reading that some winter sown plants do not bloom the first year. Hopefully this isn't true of annuals. Otherwise it would be a huge disappointment to not have any flowers blooming where I had annuals planned!

I am sure I will have a million questions along the way. So I'll just stop here for now and see what kind of input I get.

Thank you to all who reply.
Sherry

Hey Sherry!

Zinnias, in particular, are probably best NOTsown in the dead of winter; do them in spring, using the WS method. Wouldn't want them to come up and then get nipped by a freeze. You will have zinnias blooming all summer and past when the store-boughten ones poop out. Now, depending on your zone and the vagaries of the weather, you might not have blooming zinnias at the same time as the purchased ones, but you'll have sturdier, hardier plants. Try it - you won't be disappointed.

You could direct sow them as well, but then you stand in danger of not getting anything - birds or critters could get the seeds; or of getting something where you don't want it to be - rains washing the seeds around or Ma Nature just being ornery. Or you could get exactly what you want. It's just more controllable when you WS.

All annuals will bloom first year. It's the biennials and perennials that don't bloom first year, although there are some varieties that do. But they generally put on their best shows in from the 2nd year and on. So you could WS your biennials and perennials this year, and WS lots of annuals for color till the others "grow up".

Don't worry about it too much, WSing is truly easy. Why don't you try a couple of things now for planting out in the fall? There is fall-sowing too - same method, just a few more vents so the containers don't overheat. Maybe a biennial like Sweet William - that will bloom next spring; and a perennial of your choosing, one that doesn't need cold strat. You'll see how easy it is and be ready to sow your zinnias in spring..

Hope this helps some.


PV

PV,
Thanks for the reply and all the info! I really appreciate it!

So one thing I'm still not sure of, do I have to wait to winter (spring) sow the zinnias until all danger of frost is gone. If I have to wait until all danger of frost is gone, then what would be the point of doing that with zinnias. Not trying to be smart, just not understanding the reasoning. I read somewhere that you can start them earlier and they will be okay if sowed in the containers. Is this right?

Sherry ;o)

Sherry - sorry if I misled you; you don't have to wait until all danger of frost is gone to sow your zinnias, just don't sow them in, say, January. Your average last frost date is somewhere in mid-April? Sowing them in March would be just fine - you should have nice plants to set out when the frost season is really gone, and they'll be fine in the containers until then. That's when I usually do mine, and I think our last frost dates are somewhat similar.

You'd have to watch for unexpected freezes; some folks will put their tenders inside in cases like that, or cover the containers with a sheet or something. I garden on a balcony, so I've got my own little microclimate up here; for me, putting the containers against the building wall is usually enough.

PV

I have great success with zinnia - I sow mine in April and have blooms all summer long.

My zinnias are still blooming - especially the profusion zinnias. Honestly, I am not sure why I would ever bother with petunias again after the superlative flowering of the profusion zinnias! No worries about them being straggly either. I am soooooo happy I got to try zinnias - thanks to my DG friends!

I agree Michaela. They are the best for cutting too!

Yes! Zinnia's make great cut flowers! Yet another reason to dump the petunias!

All the zinnias that i have sown early, before spring - have not done well. So i too have begun sowing them in April or later ....my neighbor - who is a zinnia nut, just direct sows or sprinkles the seeds in a large pot to transplant later.
I'm sure her germ. rate is close to 100% as she probably has 100's of them.

I too gave up on Petunias.... can't grow them to save my life.

I tried Laura Bush petunia this year for the first time, and I love them. I'm not as fond of the pink, but the purple is wonderful. I'll do those again next year. And germination must have been near 100%.

I'm not nearly as scientific as most of you. I never keep track of how many seeds I sow. I just sprinkle seeds into a jug and hope for the best.

Karen

Karen -- if i can count the seeds, i'll track them... but i have quite a few in my spread sheet where it may say "2 pinches" or even ALL or A BUNCH. i'm certainly not going to count tiny seeds ... some like Poppies are even like dust.

I'll have to look up that Laura Bush petunia. i love purple.

I think Wildseed Farms is the only place that sells the Laura Bush. Prices are reasonable and they're nice to deal with.
http://www.wildseedfarms.com/laura_bush_petunia_item_8882.htm

I recommend the purple over the pink. The pink fade too much. This picture shows both of mine.

Karen

i recall years when i first planted wave petunias, the flowers were quite large... which is what i loved about them... now the flowers are so much smaller. Plus -- i have been unable to find that deep rich purple that i used to buy ... now it's more of a muted color.

pretty garden though. thanks for sharing.

Is it ok to use seed starting mixture for wintersowing?

I think the term they use is... Soil-less. Potting soil, that sort of 'medium'

Many of us use Miracle Grow or the sort.

HTH

Terese

What Terese said...you don't want to use garden soil. It is too heavy, holds too much water and might contain bacteria/fungii that you don't want with you new seeds.

I winter sow petunias every year. My grandmothers always planted them. I always plant whatever I receive in a trade. These are still blooming in my old metal sprinkling can even after a low of 22 degrees the other morning.

Don (DEMinPA)

Don -- i've tried petunias [wave] two years now... and duds both times. so i've given up on them.

I did Laura Bush petunias last year and I think every one must have germinated. They sprouted early and did well, some are still in bloom. Maybe you should try another type. Petunias are pretty cold hardy and should do well in zone 5.

Karen

I had little hunks of them all over the yard

I have winter sown both Petunias and Zinnias in March and they are great. Some of my Petunias are still blooming.

Okay,
I am going to try to sow some zinnias in March. Our last frost date is around mid April. Do you all think it will work? I have milk containers saved. Just cut holes in the bottom for drainage, add dirt and water (is Miracle Grow from Walmart okay?), add seeds, put outside with lid off. Watch what happens... It really doesn't matter now anyhow. I already bought the seeds. ;o)

Also have:

Painted Daisy
Delphinium
Canterbury Bells
Gomphrena (never even heard of these, but they looked cool)
Shirley Poppy
Alyssum
Zinnias (Cut and Come Again, Exquisite, Fruit Smoothie Mix)
Hollyhock

Any and all help appreciated! I'm scared! I don't know what the heck I'm doing. Hubby also has radishes, cucumbers and tomatos.

Sherry ;o)




This message was edited Feb 16, 2009 4:39 PM

This message was edited Feb 16, 2009 4:39 PM

go for it - you'll be fine

Sherrygirl, the first time you try WSing, you stress out, you check your containers almost daily for weeks on end, you bite your nails down to nibs, and suddenly, one week, your containers are all full of little green sprouts. A couple of weeks later, they're full of BIG green sprouts! Not too long after that, you can't step outside your door without then shouting you down, saying, "Hey, lady, plant me already! It's getting crowded in here!"

Truly, it is a lot of fun, and much easier than starting seeds inside. I didn't have any of the trouble with damping off, drying out, getting too wet, getting too leggy. . .just strong, healthy plants that took off like weeds (but in a GOOD way!) as soon as they got in the garden!

I agree. That's why I say sow it and forget it.

I want to check what you mean by lids off. Here is a photo of my winter sowing from last year. Note the tops are taped back on with duck tape and the lid is off the bottle.

zen: That's right. A "roof" is on, but no screw-on cap.

Karen

OK

Sherrygirl,
I am trying WS'ing myself this year for the first time. As of today, I have 151 containers finished. My poppies were sprouted in 2 weeks.
If you want to try some more seeds, let me know. I have so many from the Piggy Swap, the members were so generous with their seeds. I still have tons to plant, as I am trying to plant a container of most every kind of seed I received, some are multiple containers of my favorites. I only used a portion of most seed packets, so I can share some with you, if you want them. Go to my journal and you can see under seeds what I have done so far. I also have 4 o'clocks, zinnias, tomatoes, peppers, daturas, gosh, lots that I haven't sowed yet.
I am hosting the PNW roundup this August at my house. I hope you can make it to this side of the mountain!

I hope you have lots of space if your germination is as good as mine has been with winter sowing. You will have a lot to share at that round up.

You probably already know this, but when you plant the poppies plant them in hunks rather than individual plants, they do not like to be transplanted so you don't want to disturb the roots any more than you have to.

I haven't even started my winter sowing. We have a lot of winter left here. Six to eight inches of snow today as a matter of fact.

holy cow Lynn -- 151 already?? I think i'm still at my measly 50 or so. I plan to do more today, as i have a smattering of containers all over the house, and i think DH is not pleased about my 'piles of stuff'.

I need to go out to buy soil. I figured out how many different seeds I have to plant and it is 77 with 37 of them being Aquilegia. I have a thing for Aquilegia. I already sprinkled a lot during the fall, but want to winter sow to make sure I get what I want and can label them for collecting. Most are by color only.

I love aquilegea also. Which ones do you have?
tcs, yeah, I got so many seeds from the Piggy Swap, I feel guilty if I don't try to plant most of them. We have a lot of room for things, but I haven't prepared new beds for them yet. I wanted to wait until I see what will grow before I start planning. (That is a good excuse, isn't it?)
DH is a bit irritated with the piles of plastic containers in the garage. But, he saves them for me and brings them home from work, so he must be ok with it.

The piles of containers is why I switched to the plastic bins with 5 oz drinking cups inside. They line up neatly, don't blow around, and I can re-use the bins each winter and stack them neatly on a shelf in the garage the rest of the year. The first year with milk jugs all over the patio drove him nuts, and he is normally very good about my "projects".

Good idea, Did you say you buy the styrofoam cups?
I was stressing about where to stash all the milk jugs and plastic stuff to save for next year.

I use the thin plastic drinking cups, they are really cheap. I use a little fingernail scissors on the bottom edge to clip a hole for drainage, super quick and write on them with a wax china marker. I only put a few seeds in each cup instead of a whole pack, so they are easier to share. Most of what I grow goes to church for the gardens there, so it is easier for my helpers if they are in little pots.

Lynn, I don't have a complete list of the Aquilegia but that is on my list of items to do this weekend. I need a list of all of the things I am winter sowing.

Are you keeping a spreadsheet? I am embarrassed to say that I do not know how to create one. I am trying to keep the info in my Journal here on DG, but a spreadsheet would be better.

Sherrygirl, I've successfully wintersown everything on your list. I think you'll be thrilled with the results!

On Zinnias, what varieties are you growing this year? The last couple of years I grew the Magellan series and loved them. They only get about a foot to 18" tall, but have big 3-4" fully double blooms. One year I started them in the house and they had flower buds in 6 weeks. Wintersowing those or Profusion types in March would likely give you bedding plant sized transplants at planting time, and you'd see color quickly from them.

Neal

These are the zinnias I have sown in the past. I can say I like the profusion and LOVE the Zowie.

Zinnia elegans Bright Jewels Mix
Zinnia Elegans Candy Stripe
Zinnia elegans Envy
Zinnia elegans Giant Cactus Mix
Zinnia elegans Park's Cutting Blend Pastel Shades
Zinnia elegans Profusion Cherry
Zinnia elegans Profusion Coral Pink
Zinnia elegans Profusion Deep Apricot
Zinnia elegans Profusion Double Cherry
Zinnia elegans Profusion Orange
Zinnia elegans Profusion White
Zinnia elegans Pulcino Mixed
Zinnia elegans Whirligig Hybrid
Zinnia elegans Zowie! Yellow Flame
Zinnia Haageana Aztec Sunset
Zinnia Haageana Persian Carpet
Zinnia hybrid Profusion Apricot
Zinnia Peppermint Stick
Zinnia Profusion Fire Hybrid
Zinnia Red Spider
Zinnia x hybrida Profusion Mixed