Some questions on winter sowing

Yes I have a spread sheet. I have finally learned how to use excel. I hope this comes out ok I am not sure how a copie from excel will move to this form.
These are alI Aquilegia I have listed the common name here along with the color. Where you see a number instead of a name I collected the seeds this past fall but don't know the name.


Columbine Songbird mixed
Columbine McKana pink/white
Pleated Coumbine Dark Pink
Cameo Dwarf Pink
Columbine purple
Elegance Ivory
Beidermeir mixed
McKana's Giant Yellow
Pleated Coumbine Dark Purple
#2 Burgundy
Blue Fan blue
Crimson Star red and white
Woodside Variiegata Dark Violet varigated leaves
Leprechaun Gold Violet varigated leaves
Green Apples White and green
Black Barlow black purple
Comet Columbine red with yellow tips
Tower White white
#3 pink
#4 purple
#7 white
#8 tall pink
#10 lavender and white
Minnesota Native red and yellow
#12 pink & white
#13 nk& white
Ruby Port deep red

#15 dark blue
Nora Barlow dbl pink
#17 pink & white
Grannys Bonet purple
#19 blue & white
#20
#21 pink & white
Maxie Star yellow

WOW Zen.... thats a lot of columbine!! I currently do not have any at home. The ones i WS'ed last year i planted in Wisc back in Sept. I'm hoping they bloom this year so i know what all the hoopla is about. I dont know if i've ever seen one in bloom yet.

I adore them and in the spring most of my gardens are full of them. For the most part they die back early enough that they aren't noticeable later on. Some do re-bloom though.

I need to find a better way to organize my photos I can't find any that are of a garden with a lot of them in it. All I can find is closeups.

I finally got my winter sowing data base done. What a long process and I haven't started the sowing.

Neal, glad to read you did the Megellan Zinnia and you liked them.

I ordered some Megellan Mixed and some of the Pulcino Mixed from Value Seed. Along with Sonata Cosmos Mixed.

I sowed 29 different types of seed today.

Woo Hoo, isn't it exciting to think you will have all those plants with so little work?

nanny, I'm glad to see other sources besides Parks are offering the Magellans. They were 3.95 for 25 seeds from Parks. It was the same with the Sonata Cosmos for a while too, but now several sources are selling them. I think you're gonna love them both!

I just checked one of my favorite seed sources J. L. Hudson Seedsman and compared there offering to your list above and they have 5 that are not on your list.

http://jlhudsonseeds.net/

I was out last night and started talking about winter sowing. There are now two more people that are going to get started right away.

Hello everyone,

I am wintersowing this year and dropping occassionally to get some insight as to what to do. I live in Zone 6a (last frost mid May) and I was wondering if it is too late to put out some more seeds. Is winter sowing at this time of year the same as using a "cold frame". I have some seeds that recommend direct sow after frost or use earlier in a cold frame.

Lynn, I have done many spreadsheets for co-ops lately and have learned from the following websites:


[HYPERLINK@www.baycongroup.com]
[HYPERLINK@homepage.cs.uri.edu]
[HYPERLINK@office.microsoft.com]

One of them is actually a great video and the others are really great. They teach slowly and clearly.

Teri

Teri, I'm still wintersowing, and some years have till April. Its still winter for a couple of days, so go for it! I separate out my seeds for wintersowing and do those I know require cold stratification first, then the rest of the perennials and biennials, hardy annuals, and then the frost sensitive annuals about now.

I winter sow anything that isn't tender, like impatiens. It is very much like a cold frame. I start in late January with my hardiest, and work toward spring.

I have a question. I bought some Agastache Purple Pygmy Seeds from Park Seeds. It is uclear if the should be surface sown or covered. Anyone know??

Clothier doesn't specify, but T&M says light,
http://www.tmseeds.com/product/7555.html

I have several purple pygmy and love them. Long bloom time, attract bees and hummingbirds, and they smell like bubble gum.
http://www.tmseeds.com/product/7555.html

I rarely pay attention to sowing instructions including light or dark. In most cases it doesn't seem to matter as most seeds seem to move around in the jug and heave with exposure to the elements.

Karen

Karen -- i ordered some of the Purple Pygmy from Bluestone this year. I had never heard of them, til i saw them in the catalog..... had to have them. Hope they do well.

I meant to attach a picture of one of my Purple Pygmy

I hope they germinate I really want these to grow! I love agastache and salvia. I sowed some Lady In Red salvia.

So glad I ran into this thread (a bit late) because I have WS a lot of my seeds already but wasn't planning on WS zinnias because I was afraid they were too tender. But I'd SO much rather WS than sow under lights, at least for most things. I'm in zone 7; our last average date of frost is May 25 (cold Cape Cod spring). Anyone have any advice on WHEN in April you would recommend sowing zinnia seeds here? Early, middle, late?
Thanks in advance.

It's impossible to say when it is absolutely "safe" for any of us. Weather patterns can vary a lot from year to year. You can stick them outside and take your chances, hope for the best. Or, sow them but be prepared to give them some extra protection in case of frost. That's usually what I do. I haven't sown zins yet but will probably do them soon. If a frost comes along, I'll cover and/or move them.

One thing about zinnias, they generally sprout and grow fast once warm weather is here.

Karen

This year, I wintersowed a little later than last year, but our weather was more than a bit chilly a few weeks ago (-30ºC / -22ºF) so it should all work out fine. Our last average frost is May 24th. Last year I had a few jugs that did not germinate, so I have seeded one tray of 3 seeds of each plant that I had wintersowed. It will be interesting to see the difference between the wintersowed plants & the indoor seeded tray. Also, if I have a few jugs that are duds, I should have at least 1 plant of each in the seed tray.

One of my favorite ws plants is sanvitalia creeping zinnia, aztec gold. Did well ws last year

This message was edited Mar 21, 2009 5:23 PM

joanna... that is a cool looking plant.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/86116/

heck, my neighbor is a Zinnia nut... if she saw thoooooooose..... she'd have them everywhere.

i can see why you liked them. easy to grow, like all zinnias??

The Aztec Gold has darker leaves. I wintersowed 3 different kinds. Mandarin Orange, Yellow with brown eye (pkg just called it creeping zinnia) and my favorite Aztec Gold. Picture from my garden after a little rain shower

Pretty. I like that dark foliage. How big are the blossoms Joanna?

Karen

about an inch

Thanks, Joanna. That's one I'm definitely going to have to try.

Karen

Thanks, Karen and others, for the advice on WS zinnias. I'm going to sow them mid-April and keep an eye on the weather. If freezes are predicted, It's not that difficult to toss and old fleecy blanket I have over the zinnia-jugs.