I have done some fall planting down South( Atl, GA area). It is a catch 22 . Because you get the first frost somtimes around early November. So you have to start like in mid August. But it is often TOO hot( highs in 90s) So what do you do ? There are few things that you can sow in flats/containers and keep them mostly shaded and transplant when it cools off a bit. But if you want to sow a bed full of something, it is better to direct sow. But you cannot because it is too hot to germinate and grow them. It is not that the frost will kill your fall crops, but when it cools down too much , they are not going to grow. So the best option is to start early in a cool shaded place, if you can.

The seed must be FRESH!!!!!!! Store the seed at 40F for 30 days then do NOT cover the seed (light required for germination) soil temp 60F time to germination 40 days.....

I have H. vittatum, H. papilio and H. blossfeldiae germinating right now......I germinate in winter all the time in my house. I just use my normal mix for germinating seed, put a plastic bag over the pot with a rubber band to maintain humidity and put them under a fluorescent grow light. Depending on species it takes around 3-4 weeks to see leaves. I have never germinated a hybrid other than F1s so I do not have experience with these, but they should be just as easy if not more so....not sure why you think it would be any different than in summer....I would always use the freshest seed possible rather than waiting. Best of luck :o) Dan

They are in the south part of the yard- and are shaded in the east by the neighbors HUGE pine tree- and directly in front (south) of them is a lilac- so they don't get sun till the afternoon but they get a solid dose of it! They are tucked into the front of a bed with Dwarf Mugos- a (native)plum tree- a (native)hazelnut shrub- a long soft needled 4 year old rescued unknown native pine and a rescued arborvitie - that when I planted all of these things in their bed- looked like there was way too much room between them, so I added a tree peony, some siberian iris, and little blue stem.... I tossed fabric over it all and added chips to the top- and just prune and weed out the creeping charlie and the dandilions. I really do not touch the soil- and don't even bother to water any more. I figure I will leave them to battle it out as to who will survive- I wonder if drainage is the key- even in my mostly sandy black loam- I have a few places that will winter rot daffs and other plants and bulbs in the winter- but will not be moist enough to support ligularia in the summer.... You know - you can always plant squill- mine are coming up blue in the lawn already- and in the beds where I originally planted them...