First Time Winter Sowing #6 : There's still time!

Myosotis:

Bronze fennel:

Mixed Gaillardia:

Oriental poppy `Brilliant':

Rudbeckia `Irish Eyes':

Codonopsis:

way to go!

Thanks, Anita. I'm so thrilled this thing works! It's a wonderful concept and I'll be WSing again next winter.

Angie

yesterday when i was out 'playing in the mud' I noticed my Bronze Fennel has started to grow. YAY... that is really one cool plant, plus the swallowtail cats love it.

Karin: They cover mine in summer, not a stem that doesn't have one on it!

kyla: I'm glad that you found some of my ramblings helpful. I hope I didn't lead you astray.

It's always nice when new folks find the thrill of those first sprouts.

It was 73 degrees here today, like a glorious spring day. No babies yet but I can see radicle emergence on my California poppies. By mid week forecast is for highs of 40 and lows in the mid 20s.

Karen

I have to get that fennel for sure then...I am trying to add mostly BF friendly host & nectar plants this year!

nanny -- i still had a lot of seeds left over, of the fennel... if you want some.

I have a question about wintersowing Hibiscus. I have some seeds that were given to me. I have heard that they will take 3-5 years to bloom? Because of that I am thinking about sowing them a bit later when I can free up some more of my containers after I start planting things out. (I officially ran out of containers today). That way I could let them get big enough by August or so to plant out in the gound where I want them to go. I was also thinking of doing that with the Hosta seed I have. I am thinking they will grow slowly this first year and just need to be ready to go in the ground by late summer. I just want to make sure they are not going to be 3 ft. tall this first year. :) And I guess I need to make sure that neither of those seeds need the cold of wintersowing to germinate. Any ideas?

WOW...I would love some....

I'll get'em out on Monday

Super...thanks so much!

Lissa, when you say 5 years to bloom for hibiscus, are you talking about tropical or hardy hibiscus? My wintersown hardy ones bloomed in the 2nd year. I sowed them in 2006.

Karen

Really? Yes, they are hardy Hibiscus. Some are labeled Tall Perennial Hibiscus. I have "Chablis", "Pinot Noir". So do they get big the first year, enough that I should just put them in the ground?

Definitely get them in the ground. I put mine in the ground when tiny. (I try to do that with all my seedlings). Mine still don't get very tall- maybe about 2 feet. I always do pinch them back though- it makes for shorter, bushier plants with more blossoms.

I can't find a photo of the babies, but they look just like their mom, pictured below.

Karen

i have babies too!!!!

I didn't stay outside to count how many are up or check the names, plus I didnt want to disturb the duct tape just yet, but there's all kinds of action going on in those pots!!!

on the left is chilean monkey plant ( ??? I got these seeds in a trade)

I love the sproulet pix! I kept a rambling garden journal last year and see that my first babies last year were late March--so my fingers are crossed! It was so lovely here today i cut back my old perennial stems and looked hard for green. There is a tiny start of a daffadil. I'll have to rake the old leaves off and see if that hurries things along.

One other note to add about perennials that was new to me last year (as was just about everything!) many perennials don't bloom the first year. I read somewhere that there is an old gardeners saying: the first year they (the plants) sleep; the second they creep; and the third they leap! I'll see this year as I should have some in all three phases!

dlw28....how cute.

I was going to go to the WS site today and read 'how to's' for the next steps, but haven't had a chance to: this is what I'm worried about. (aka dumb questions)

its March and my babies are peeking thru....when we have freeze warnings, snows, do I need to bring all my jugs under cover or do they sit outside regardless?

and when we have to start thinning out the seedlings, do you guys transplant those or throw them away?

input is welcome from anyone

Hey. I had some things sprouted in February. We just had a week of snow and though it has melted off in the 40 plus degree days, the nights are still in the mid 20s. Nevertheless, everyone is fine and during the time they were covered in a foot of snow, several days, several new containers sprouted, including chamomile, basil, thyme, blackeyed susans.....

If it were to get below 20 I would think some of them might suffer, but I see they are fine with these conditions. On sunny days I open the tops for some of them -- not all cause I don't have room! But I cover t hem back up -- close the tops -- when t he shade reaches them. Have not put other covers over them at all. As I said though, I do watch and if it looks to get down in the teens or below (perish the thought!) I will cover them with a sheet or something.......

As I understand it--anything that sprouts right now should be hardy enough to withstand the ups and downs in temp. The cover (with holes) acts as a mini-greenhouse--so that helps too. Mine did well last year. I don't really understand 'damping off' but I gather with WS this doesn't happen so much--and damping off is fatal to the babies! So I think you don't have to do anything!

I think transplanting happens after the sprouts have several sets of true leaves--not just the first pair of leaves which is really part of the seed packet. I don't do the bunch of seeds so I didn't worry too much if I didn't get to transplant right away. Usually I have about one seed to a square inch of surface of the WS container (does that make sense??) so there seemed to be enough space for the roots--at least for a while. I had a great germination rate too--so I had more than enough plants...

And I am bound to have waaay more plants this year! Can't wait to give some as gifts.

I've never thinned seedlings. I plant by removing the whole blob of plants from the jug and put it in a flat. Cut into squares like a pan of brownies, and plant the hunks.

See Trudi's site
http://www.wintersown.org/wseo1/Hunk-o-Seedlings.html

Karen

I am amazed .... I have several things sprouting but still need to do some more containers.... and I need to finish that tonight since it is supposed to drop back to the 40's for highs after being in the high 70's and low 80's this past weekend......

The daffodils are showing their heads everywhere and I went and "stole" some more bulbs from old home places yesterday..... ^_^ Got some beautiful daffs ....

Genna

later in the week we will dip into the teens for over night... Brrrrrrrrrr
guess i'm glad i dont have seedlings yet.

Hi all,

Back from my Madrid holiday, and SO MUCH to catch up on, and, while I was gone, 1 jug of Wallla Walla Sweet Onions; 1 of Campillo (a red onion); 1 of Thai Silk "Apricot" California Poppies; and 1 smaller container of Torrey's Four-Nerve Daisies have germinated. Hooray!!

~Lissa : I do tend to be a bit obsessive/compulsive, but here's an idea. As I have planted each of my WS seeds (100 and counting), not only have I recorded it in my DG Journal (which is open access, if you want to look at it), but I also entered it into an WS-Excel spreadsheet. On the spreadsheet I have recorded the Plant name (2 columns : 1 for scientific name and the other for popular); the preferred light conditions (I chose this first, because light is the dominating factor in my garden); the preferred soil conditions; water requirements; fertilizing requirements; height;, spacing; flowering time; flowering colour; and "other things" I thought were important to me about each. I can sort on any of these features (and sub-sort on 2 others), so, I can for instance, find flowers that like full-sun, further sorted by height and flowering season. I am hoping that this will help me "lay out" my beds, especially since so much of what I have WS this year are perennials. It will also help mje select some annuals to inter-plant to ensure some good flowers this 1st year while waiting for the perennials to mature (one of the "other things" I noted was which perennials might flower in their 1st year). This is easy to set up, but if you want, I could email you the basic format I used and you could then just put in your plants.

~Anita : I think you will have both great delight and some sad disappointment from your saved zinnias. These are truly marvelous plants whose entire possibilities, I think, have not yet been truly explored. That said, I suppose you know that if you had only 1 kind of zinnia in your garden last year (and if it was not a hybrid), if you planted those seeds you would get the same flowers; if it was a hybrid, you could get flowers that look like it or like either of its parents, or even something new if one or more of the parents were themselves hybrids. If you planted a whole bunch of different zinnias, who knows what you'll get : maybe something totally new and different. Zinnias are just so much fun (and beauty) in the garden. (By the way gemini_sage(is that Neal?), the zinnias come on pretty late, so they are an interesting counterpoint to the lower dahlias and the chrysanthemes).
This is the first time I have WS zinnias (or will have, because I am still waiting on them). In the past, I have always just sown them in place like my Gramma did or sowed them indoors.
and Karen, I know we do agree on many things, but the colour of those zinnias could be another point of dissension. "Butt-ugly"? I'd call it "pumpkin" and be very happy to have it in my garden because I am real partial to orangey shades.

~Angie : great photos! Great success! Seems like nearly everything you are showing also even has it's 1st real leaves! But what is : "Codonopsis"? I've never heard of it.

~tcs & Angie : We have beautiful Scarce Swallowtail butterflies (Iphiclides podalirius) here that love to gather nectar from the lavender, but I have never seen the caterpillars. I wonder if I planted the bronze fennel if they would use it as a host plant?

~Karen : That's a great hibiscus bush! I've never seen them like that. In fact, I had never seen these hardy hibiscus at all until we moved to France, where they are used as hedges. That bush looks so much prettier than when I see them crowded together to make a hedge!

~Phyl & dlw28 : i'd say that "MOSTLY" anything that has sprouted now will make it through your weather changes. BASIL? No way! Show basil just a sniff of frost and it's likely to be gone. If we could only get a frost tolerant basil (a frost resistant one would be even better), we could be on our way to fame and fortune, as well as early and late pesto!

In the time it's taken me to type this, I'll bet I'm even further behind!
C'est la vie!

Potagere/Jim

Thanks, Jim. I like that hibiscus, too. I've probably had it for 10 years.

But I still don't like the color of that orange zinnia. I do like orange flowers, and I've grown a lot of them. That zinnia was just too neon for my liking!

Karen

Karen : Well, if it pops up again, send me seeds! I just love the "neon" colours that sometimes show up among flowers (even among nasties!)!
Jim

Welcome back Jim, and hello all! Congrats on all your sproutlets, Angie, and thanks for the pictures!

All my Feb 1 plantings have sprouted (Blood flower, Shasta Daisy, Rose Mallow, Dahlia "Bishop's Children" and "Early Bird Mix") and also the Gazania from my Feb 13 plantings. The Dahlias are on their second set of leaves and the Rose Mallow is trying to grow out of the milk jug!

What has my jaw hitting the floor, however, is a humble Morning Glory that I WSed four days ago and is UP!!! This whole Winter Sowing thing is really blowing my mind.

I am headed out back to sow some seeds before we start into a week of rain.

Happy gardening!

GB

Jim: Codonopsis is a short vine that I am trying for the first time this year. It looks good in the books so I'm giving it a shot.

If you have the room for the fennel, do try it. The ferny foliage, especially on the bronze fennel, is reason enough to grow it, but the caterpillars are a bonus!

Angie

Edited to say I believe it's a form of clematis.

This message was edited Mar 9, 2009 1:31 PM

Well, my basil seedling did survive temps into the 20s last night, but it is indeed the one I am most closely watching, and plan to sow more of as insurance. ;-)

It is the folks in this forum that kept me sane while I was feeling foolish planting seeds out in the snow. I keep going back and reading agin the previous threads. My dirt got dry and I watered it even though it seemed dumb to care for seeds at 40 degrees. The instruction and encouragement here has been of great help and is much appreciated. Next year I will not be afraid to WS and will know to do it. I am even looking forward to discount seeds later in the season so I can get them in preperation for next winter and sowing time!

Hi there--Jim, a holiday in Madrid?? I'm jealous!

Are there any bronze fennel seeds still available? I actually saw the plant at White Flower Farms last fall but only now recognize what it was. Even as the flowers were dying off the form of the plant was lovely!

I probably have another 40 types of seeds to WS, but looking back at last years journal it looks like I was still WSing into April even as the weather was a bit warmer. Funny, I can't really remember how I organized things but this year I know I more consciously WSed the difficult to germinate seeds first. I'm hoping the longer time thawing and freezing again will help!

Well, I did a stupid thing. We haven't had freezing temps since Feb 20th. So I thought my Spinach might like some sunlight, I opened up the top of my ice cream container. Set it in the sun and gave it a little water. TOTALLY forgot about it. LOL. It froze pretty good, and half the little sprouts were laying on their sides by morning. oops. However, I am happy to say that all but 2 or three have popped back up and are looking perky! Who knew?

Last night we got a good rain for the first moisture we have had since the middle of December. YAY.

Hi Jim! Welcome back. Thanks for the ideas on the spreadsheet. I do mine in Excel, but I think it is definitely a work in progress. I need to add a few different categories.

Tonya mentioned the Watersorb thing. Is anyone else doing that? I am thinking it could be a great thing to do with our dry climate. I would like to add it to my beds as I turn them with the compost. Since they are empty now, I can just do it all at once. I think the little plants might really like it as they are getting established.

dlw -- i still have fennel. popped some off for nanny_56 this morning ... but i do have a bit more.

I would love some I am sending dmail now