What have you wintersowed so far #5

ClanCampbell, when did you winter sow? I think we are in the same zone but I didn't have luck with a lot of what I planted in January. Most of what I tried was perennials(sp). Going to have coneflowers, butterfly weed bush, baloon flowers and prarie sunflower. When the "monsoon" season started in early April I moved them to my carport and that may have caused some of the problem. The indirect light may have not been strong enough in April.

I started on February 1st and was planting jugs about once a week, then finally just whenever I got the urge :) The last few jugs were done on 3/27 and 4/12. All of the last ones have sprouted for me.

One thing I did learn is that you have to watch for the tender plants..I lost 10 jugs during a cold spell on 3/28 and only 4 of those re-sprouted later. I didn't like this part of WSing!


Chris

Hi all!

I have been quite remiss regarding posting to let you know how my WSing went. Physical problems along with other nasty family stuff kept me away from my computer.

I am not even sure if this thread is active but I will try.

This was my first year WSing and I had about 75% success. We have had such unusual weather this summer. Hardly any sun, frost was late leaving and much rain. I had a few plants die as soon as I planted them.
I am tickled pink with the results from WSing because if I hadn't done that I fear that I wouldn't have many seeds germinate. All the plants in my tiny indoor greenhouse died. Never had that happen to the degree that it did but it doesn't help when you knock over your greenhouse and everything spills out on the floor............sigh

Seeds that were directly sown had a better success rate but everything was late blooming and some of the seeds rotted because of the unusual amount of rain and lack of sun. We finally got some true Summer weather starting last week and it still continues. This is the strangest Summer I can remember.

The baggie system did not work for me and nothing at all germinated in the bags. I used lots of plastic containers too though and those were the ones that were successful. I even emptied some that didn't germinate into some planters and voila..............I got some germination and healthy plants too!

I keep telling myself that I need to make a list of what NOT to do but haven't gotten around to it. Organization of my WSing went out the window and I have plants that I don't have a clue what they are.

My - Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate and Touch Me Not plants were successful and I just love them. Have to do some research on what I know I have to find out about seed collecting. I am so ecstatic to see my successes and thanks to all for your help.

I vow to be more organized next year (I thought that I was - Ha) and to learn from my mistakes.

Once again - A big Thanks to all who guided me and to Neil (hope I spelled your name correctly) for his wonderful seeds!

Take care all
Hugs Elaine and Otis

Elaine: Glad to hear about your experience with WSing. This was also my first year and I had mostly good results, although some things did not germinate. I saved a ton of money, though, and learned which plants I want to try again with and which I won't bother with. The Clarkias I won't bother with. They bloomed, but were so fleeting the effort wasn't worth it. The Gaillardias and Rudbeckias did best, along with the Dahlia Unwin's Dwarf. Those will definitely be used in greater abandon next year. They have grown huge! See below. The Salvia viridis `Palisades' did well, too, and the dianthus. I have some poppies that are planted and waiting 'til next year to bloom (I hope). Larkspur for some reason didn't do well for me.

Things I learned from my experience were to be more selective and limited in what I sow and not to start too early. Limiting the amount of seeds I sow will also expedite my getting the plants into the ground, which is another area where I failed miserably. In fact, I still have some WS'd seedlings in their pots on the patio. Just ran out of room and energy once it got so hot.

Angie

This message was edited Sep 8, 2009 3:50 PM

Hey Angie!

Thanks for the response and the info.

Seems to me that my Larkspur never came up until the second year?
It was not WSed though. Hmmmm?

I'm afraid that my enthusiasm is larger than my ability. But life is a learning lesson, just as I view my garden. Every year I learn new things and realize there is so much that I don't know. There are many mistakes that I will repeat because I failed to learn the lesson the first time. I am sure I am not the only person that has to learn the hard way sometimes, repeating my mistakes and then, perhaps, learning the lesson.

So happy to hear that you had success with WSing and learned along the way.

Many more successes for you this upcoming winter. Oh. I am addicted for sure ^_^.

Hugs Elaine and Otis

I think I'll also slow down and not do as many jugs this year, mainly because I've got less area than I did before. And to add to the joy of WSing..I'm now in a whole different area! After my DH passed away in April, the kids talked me into moving back here to Iowa from Oklahoma.

So, please.. someone from this zone help me to decide when to start my jugs! :) Do I start them earlier or later than zone 7b as I was in last winter??

I really didn't get a chance to enjoy my flowers this year because of all that was going on and so I took pics of what was blooming for me before I left. Here's one of my Mexican Sunflower. I love this color!!

I'd like to show off a couple more :)

ok, one more and that's it.. I love the color of this one :)

Chris: Those are beautiful and I, too, love the color on the Mexican sunflower! Do you have seeds? Your plants look so healthy. Wow.

Angie

Clan - What is that last flower? I just love it. So pretty and erect looking. Love the colour too! Sorry for my ignorance but this girl's gotta know.

Sorry but can't help with the Zone 5a. I am sure someone here can help you though.

Hugs Elaine and Otis

Clan, just looked back at my records, and I sowed mostly in February, with much success. We're in the same zone, so hope that was helpful! I think I started in January last year, and it got hot earlier in the year, so last year my plants were quite a bit bigger when I set them out. I started later, and then they just got repeatedly soaked in our constant rain this spring, so my plants were on the small side when I planted them in the beds. They did fine, though. I can't complain!

Welcome back to Iowa! I drive through Burlington whenever I go visit my parents in Knoxville, IA. It's a beautiful area! Good to hear you are close to family. That makes all the difference in the world.

Angie

Angie in NC, I wasn't able to get seeds from it before I left..I hated that! Once I find my container that has the seeds in it, I'll see if I kept some of them back though. I don't believe I did, but I'm not certain :)

Elaine, I honestly don't know what that flower is LOL.. I had them all on a spreadsheet and was being so careful..then when it came time to transplant, I literally was throwing them in the ground before they died. Hopefully some kind soul on here will enlighten us both!

Angie in IL, well next time you're headed my way, let me know and we'll meet for lunch or something! I thought this little corner of Iowa was zone 6a, not 5a. I know that most of the storms always seem to be further north near I-80. When I looked at the zone maps here on DG, I thought that's what it had..guess I better go check again :)

Chris: that last one looks like a zinnia of some kind to me. It sure is pretty, whatever it is.

I agree, that last flower looks like a zinnia.

I'm glad to hear of all the newbie success stories. Don't doubt that you will continue to have some seeds that don't germinate. I've been at this for 4 years and have sown platycodon each year. It has never sprouted in 4 tries. I finally gave up and bought a plant at a half price sale at a local nursery a few days ago. It's getting ridiculous at this point when I've never owned the plant and don't even know if I like them! But remember, even experts who grow under lights for year are not always 100% successful either.

Here's a tip from a seasoned veteran for those having trouble with larkspur: Don't wintersow it in a jug, direct sow it NOW. If kept moist they will sprout soon in the cool fall weather, then winter over as tiny seedlings. Next year they'll be huge and beautiful

Here you can see some of my seedlings in spring, the tiny little ones on the far right. If you look closely and match by size and color, you can see them here and there, too

Karen

This is what they looked like in June

Karen

Oh, how beautiful, Karen! I'm going out tomorrow and sprinkling what's left of that larkspur seed packet on the ground! Your flowers are spectacular. Thanks for the tip.

Angie

Karen - Big Wow regarding your garden. What a fantastic mixture you have. One can't help but feel happy just looking at it. Well done girl!

Hugs Elaine and Otis

Thanks for the compliments.

Believe me, if you can get those larkspur started now, before the ground freezes, they'll do well and be tall, stately plants by next summer. You just need to get the seeds on the ground now and mist them lightly every day, maybe twice a day if the weather is warm and dry. Once started they seem to have no trouble surviving winter even if they're only one inch seedlings. Last year it got down to below zero F., with no snow cover for insulation, and those babies didn't miss a beat.

This was the other side of that bed, picture taken from the center stone path.

Karen

Karen, its odd how some things work for some but don't for others- I've successfully WS Playcodon several times now, and often have gotten blooms the first year. I did note something last year though, the potting media used makes a difference for a lot of plants. In the past I'd always used Miracle grow potting mix, which works best for most things, but last year in mid sowing I started using a mix with a lot of fine bark that drains extra well. Some things didn't do as well in it, but others did better than ever, including Platycodon.

Every wintersower I know has started platycodon with no problem. I have tried them in different months, spring and winter, and never get a sprout. I've used both traded and commercial seeds. I think they don't like me or they don't want to live at my house. The plant that I just bought will probably die.

I'm not real fond of Miracle Grow myself. I have used it and it worked OK. I'm probably just politically prejudiced against the company. I did try one small bag of their organic mix last year. It's bark based and I liked it better than the regular stuff. It's pretty expensive though. I'll have to try harder to find Pro-Mix locally this year.

Karen

I know what you mean, I really don't like supporting MG company, sure wish Pro Mix was more readily available on the retail market, that was always my favorite. For so many things, it seems the peat based mixes hold too much moisture.

You can always mix in a handful of perlite to lighten the mix some. I sometimes do that and it works well.

Last year, when I couldn't get Pro-Mix here, I went to a couple of local nurseries where they start their own plants from seeds. They both had MG on display for customers but I searched for the growers and asked what they use for their own seed starting. One used Metro Mix, the other used Fafard. I bought one big bag of each and liked them both. Both were peat based but nice and fluffy and light, and drained well. I liked both. I still have some Metro Mix, will probably get another this year if not Pro-Mix.

Karen

Karen, I love those larkspur, and I also am going to go out tomorrow and plant those seeds.
What else does well when planted in the fall?

I loved wintersowing and can't wait to try again, but it would be nice to get some of my seeds in the ground now to get started before the snow falls.

I just want to say I LOVE THIS THREAD! I love that everyone is sharing the successes and discussing what didn't work, and that folks are sharing photos of the gardens made possible by WSing. It's just inspiring to see the fruits of our labors, so to speak!

Slopesower: Larkspur are the only ones I sow in fall. In fact, they're the only thing I direct sow. Everything else is done in a milk jug in winter and spring.

I did do 4 jugs of things this summer, but that's not my routine.

Karen

I'm not sure if I've shared some of these photos here, but here's some of my WS'd seeds:

Rudbeckia Irish Eyes

Mixed Gaillardia:

Dahlia Unwin's Dwarf:

More Dahlia Unwin's Dwarf:

These did beautifully in my garden this year and they were sown from seeds during the winter. I plan to utilize these more heavily next year. Wonderful plants, bloomed all summer long!

Salvia viridis Palisades:

Myosotis:

That's it for now. I also have poppies planted which were WS'd, but they won't bloom until next year. So far, they look healthy. I've not had good luck with poppies in the past.

Angie

Angie, great pics :) Why won't the poppies bloom this year? Are you talking Oriental or California..or a different type? I WS'd both of those and I got some pretty Oriental flowers this year. What was funny is that the California either didn't come up or it didn't bloom. But the Oriental did..and those seeds were around 3 years old!! I just threw them in cause I found the seed packet in a drawer LOL I've never done poppies before..are the flowers normally small or not? Mine were small.
Here's one of the pics..

Chris, thanks for the compliment. I don't know why my poppies haven't bloomed, but I assumed since I planted them this year that they wouldn't bloom until next year. You know, the first year they sleep, second year they creep, third year they leap thing about perennials. How lovely yours are. Mine are just sitting there as a group of leaves, larger, by far, than when I planted them, but no blooms.

Angie

Strange - My California Poppies came up and I was a very happy camper. Heck. I am happy with all my wintersowing. I have learned so much and will probably forget at least half of it.

Life is a learning lesson for sure as well as gardening.

Hugs Elaine and Otis

I love this thread - this next winter will be my FIRST time to WS so I hope to have the same success as you all have! I don't have any WS plants to show (yet) so here's my dog as a substitute, lol. He's kinda pretty too. Cynthia

No flower could ever rival that handsome face!

KINDA pretty? He's gorgeous!! :)

I love WS'ing as well and this will be my 5th year at it. My favorites to sow are Zinnia, Border Dahlia, Nicotiana, Nigella, Cosmos and Tomato. Although I do others, they are definitely sown every year. I have to say that I have a good success rate on all my containers. It is the plant that I am not always happy with. Either it blooms too late, is not happy in my zone/yard or just doesn't work in the general scheme of things. That is what I love with this whole process. The variety available in seed bypasses the offerings as local nurseries and the money saved is great!

Karen, I used to get Fafard potting mix from a greenhouse operation (where we bought house plants for the Florist shop I used to work at)- it was really good! I need to ask around about some more of that.

Hemophobic, great wintersown plants you have! I love hearing the success stories! The flower you have labeled Myositis, I think is actually Cynoglossum amabile, Chinese Forget me Not. I love them, the most amazing shade of blue! I've allowed them to reseed everywhere they want. Just this year I received some Myosotis in a trade- can't wait to see them bloom next spring! I understand they are perennial and reseed.