The whole "spring bulb" and "fall bulb" labels can be confusing. Tulips/Daffodils/Crocus/Hyacinth and the like, for example - planted in the fall, but people generally call them spring bulbs because that's when they bloom. However, the bulbs you see for sale in the fall are the hardy plants that generally want a cold period and will survive the winter and come back year after year, like those I mentioned above. What you see for sale in the spring are the non-hardy bulbs and bulb-like plants that will not survive in the ground over winter, such as Dahlias, Caladiums, Elephant Ears, Glads, Cannas. Some people treat these as annuals, and others lift the roots and store them from year to year, replanting each spring. Of course, as you move further south, eventually you reach a zone for each of these things where it will be hardy outside through the winter, i.e., they will be perennials - for Glads and Cannas, we're probably talking US zone 7, a little further south for the other things mentioned. Still, they are traditionally sold in the spring because the merchants want to cover the whole range of both cold and warm zones with one sales period. The confusion comes because there are a lot of things you see packaged bare-root like bulbs which are for sale in both fall and spring - such as the Astilbe and Bleeding Heart you mention above and lots of other perennials. As you say, the packages look identical with the same contents and one shows fall planting and the other shows spring planting. These are the things that are successfully divided and transplanted any time they are dormant, which is from fall until they start to grow in the spring, so they are sold at both times. Lilies are a true bulb that is also in this category - the bulb never goes completely dormant, so they can put out new roots any time you transplant and will do well either spring or fall planted. As Cranebill mentions above, the best results for any given growing season will come if you get them in during the fall before, but I have always had success with them in the spring. Also, as Cranebill mentions above, if in doubt when spring comes, plant it anyway. The worst that can happen is that it won't grow, which is ASSURED if you don't plant it. - Steve

Sorry, I should've said "ideal" 60-70 deg. Up to 80deg is considered acceptable, but when it is that hot you really have to stay on top of the watering. But maybe out there it is really humid. Out here, 80deg means watering very frequently just to keep the ground wet. Once the seeds have gotten wet, if they let them dry out then they are toast. I also shouldn't have said late fall. I was thinking late Sept, which would be when temps are around 70F. In my experience, once the average daytime temp drops below 50, growth pretty much stops. That would be right around late Oct, and if they are like us, that is when everyone blows out their sprinklers for winter. Given the colder temps, full germination will be right around mid Oct, and by late Oct the new sprouts will be about 1" long. This means watering by hand for us, because even though it's cold, the new growth still needs to drink. IMO, that is really annoying, but I don't like to risk an early freeze damaging my sprinkler system. I don't have to worry about any of that when seeding in Apr. But to your other point, you can still seed in Apr even if the temps aren't quite high enough. They'll start to germinate as soon as the soil gets above 50-ish. And if the lot isn't shaded, soil temps reach 50 before air temp does. Anyway, I accept that Sept is the recommended "best" time to seed. My point is that early/mid spring is acceptable enough to go ahead and do it. If a person follows those steps, they will get perfectly acceptable results from a spring planting. I don't think there's any real compelling reason to wait until fall to overseed. Does it really matter if 20% fewer seeds germinate? Seed is really cheap and if a couple spots don't take, get them again in the fall.

Hi Cyndi, You already have the two best things picked out to use in your pots! At this time of the year, for ornamental things, pansies and flowering kale, a/k/a pretty cabbages, will give you the best bang for the buck! Both of those can take really cold temperatures, and, depending on what our weather does this year, could last and look good well into December. IâÂÂm assuming theyâÂÂd be getting some sun if you had basil and peppers there, but that might have changed with the seasons! TheyâÂÂd do ok for a while without sun, but should do better and last longer with sun. Other possibilities would be finding some blooming mums or fall asters and sticking them in the pots, but theyâÂÂll both freeze with our first âÂÂrealâ freeze, so IâÂÂm thinkinâ itâÂÂs probably not worth the investment in those this late this year since you donâÂÂt have anywhere to plant them in the ground for them to come back next year. With sun you could also try starting some lettuce or spinach in a couple pots. Not sure if youâÂÂd get anything edible or not. Would just depend on the weather. Anybody else have thoughts about trying lettuce or spinach in pots at this time of the year? If you decide to try that, you might go with some red lettuce for the ornamental value if it grows well! For some nice bright color and âÂÂdecoration,â pansies and kale are the âÂÂgo toâ items for fall! Skybird

I will say this: the seed that was covered germinated significantly faster, at a higher rate and established better than seed that wasn't covered. The typical narrative is that the seed doesn't need to be covered, which is true, but it appears to me there are significant benefits to doing so. In regards to dethatching: I'm a fan of great direct seed to soil contact, it has worked very well for me so far. I try to increase my rate of establishment any way I can, even if by just 5% (there's a reason that site is called Lawniac). It is also a lot of work, probably 90% of the prep work I do when seeding. If you have little thatch and the seed can make its way down to the soil, it's probably not necessary.