-echinacea
-rudbeckia. (there are dwarf ones like "Becky" (10" tall)
-snapdragon (mine last 2-3 years)
-columbine (dwarfs are available)
-digitalis (dwarfs available)
-penstemon

Remember you can find dwarf varieties of many perennials. Pinch to control height. If they spread too much, divide in a few years, give some away, and keep a small footing for yourself.

Karen

I second the columbines and rudbeckias from experience. I love both of those in my garden and they are wonderful with wintersowing. I have a lot of shade so my columbines usually bloom second or third year for me.

agastache also fits your criteria and blooms a long time the first year.

mao

In addition to those mentioned, I like dianthus, gaillardias and heucheras.

I would be happy to send you some seeds from my favorites - all you have to do is send me the postage. E-mail me if you are interested.

Becky

Coreopsis
Hyssop
bachelor button (hardy annual sown like a perennial)

I second dainthus--lots of choices and agastache--lots of choices

norabelle

Rudbeckia - look at the variety called Cherokee Sunset!

Bloomed forever!

"I want something easy to grow, also easy to find the seed - I guess I have to order, don't think anyone is stocking seed yet, as they don't know about WS'ing! :)"

Maybe you could check a few more local stores for seeds. Around here, zone 5 with last frost in mid-May, the big box stores such as Menards, Home Depot, and Lowes have large displays with many flowers and veggies. I've spent alot of time in front of their seeds racks and am trying hard not to overbuy :) I think your stores should have seeds now or very soon. But ordering is always fun and gives you even more choices!

I don't like to keep starting new threads, so I'll start here.

Has anyone successfully WS'ed Adenophora Bulleyana, I thought it's of the campanula family, maybe not? The sowing instructions say to start in seed starter and keep at 55-60 degrees, can take a long time to germinate (1 to 4 months) then whatever, then use cold frame in the fall. I failed 2 winters ago, no germination at all, didn't WS anything last year nor did I try to spring sow adenophora.

If it would ever work, this definitely would be one of my favorites. Others are daisies, rudbeckia, guess I like coreopsis, am trying some new, different ones I'm not familiar w/growing right now. My other favs I didn't WS such as delphinium, foxgloves where I was successful but not a whole lot.

I've WS'ed another gal jug of them and saved back my second pack of seeds.

Also has anyone successfully WS'ed any campanula, including Canterbury Bells (they spring sowed easily for me, got some nice plants)? I'm talking about the taller kinds, and some the seeds may not be available like the one at useful link, also comes in white from Bluestone.

Here we go with blue again, but I did some scouting on the web. The seed packet photo and description looks like a medium-to-dark true blue but then some post photos of a distinctly lavender one. If they are the same, I'd be surprised, but I got a lavender one as a volunteer and have it marked for xplant, then read they don't like their roots disturbed, probably long ones.

I'm now convinced that the soil ph may determine, in part, the blue or intensity of it, will have to read up on that.

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Here is a link that might be useful: CAMPANULA persicifolia Coerulea : BELLFLOWER, PEACH-LEAF, BELLFLOWER, WILLOW, Canterbury Bells at Bluestone

Soil ph may have something to do with it. It is known that if you buy blue blooming hydrangeas and keep the soil acidic they stay blue, but if the soil is more alkaline, the blue is lighter and enough alkaline soil or adding to make the soil more alkaline, can turn them pink.

On the other hand, trusting the pics on the seed packets or catalogs or how they are described is not good. The accuracy is really suspect.

Dianthus siberian blues is described as blue in the catalogs as well as in the name, but in reality they bloom lavender to light pink no matter how acidic the soil is.

viola yesterday, today and tomorrow, beautiful annual viola that I would never be without, is described as blue, and reality has it blooming lavender as well.

You could try adding pine needles to the soil or something to turn the soil more acidic and see if that makes a difference,
but the odds are they don't bloom the color that you expected because they where not described accurately.

On other thought on those photos. It's difficult to capture the real blue color in many cameras and when the pics is uploaded to the computer the color is in the purple to lavender range. That may be why you see the photos that are not blue

Fran

thank you all. have written down yr suggestions.
...ah ... decisions..decisions :)

becky, am sending you an e-mail.

ellen

ps aliska - just a thot - you may miss responses to yr questions - i suggest a new thread so you don't

I have wintersown several campanulas, including Canterbury bells, and got some nice plants. I have not tried the Adenophora Bulleyana. I think these pictures show the color pretty accurately. I no longer have the cherry bells (last picture)because I was told it could be invasive, so I gave it away!

Canterbury bells white
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Peach-leaved bellflower
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Canterbury bells purple
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Campanula punctata cherry bells
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I would definitely check out Lowe's.

We have one Home Depot locally that has one (1) display of Burpee seeds, but the Lowe's has quite a few!

You can check out what plants (and what supplies) I am winter sowing this year (it's my first) on my new blog at http://www.mythreegardens.com

Good luck to you!

Here is a link that might be useful: My Three Gardens

littleonefb, thanks for your thoughts. I do know better than to go by the picture but look for clues in descriptions which aren't always accurate and calibration from camera-to-computer-to-host, to my computer, commercial printing, etc., etc. I think my soil is generally acidic but need to buy a soil tester, maybe can try pine needles as may be better than Miracid. You can never be sure what you're going to get with plants anyway or how they will do for you and not somebody else.

I got curious about that dianthus siberian blues and looked it up, looks more purple, wouldn't know unless I tried it.

I just wintersowed that viola you mentioned YTT, and hope it works. Said on another thread how I lost a whole porch box of my first try germinated indoors set out to harden off - chipmunks.

It's true, different cameras capture differently or photos can easily have the blue jacked up. My camera renders pretty true color on my computer but don't know what others are seeing.

ramazz, thanks for posting all the beautiful photos. So at least Campanula can work. My Canter. Bells were beautiful in the spring but got crispy by mid summer, prob didn't water them enough, hope some self seeded and come back, my pink ones were gorgeous. The cherry bells I got from BS last year, one got crowded out, one was looking pretty unhappy by fall, can't remember where I put the 3rd one, maybe they will come back. I'll watch for invasive.

I'll start a new thread if mine fail this year or if I succeed and need further advice. I've read a lot, and no one has ever mentioned that one that I've seen but I mentioned it a couple years ago, maybe too frequently.

Or I could always change my mind and do a two or three in one title like I often do.

In zone 5 my favorite WS perennials are Lupine and aquilegias of all kinds. I also love little cheery blue forget me nots at their feet, and daisies.

In my zone I think I prefer native plants. I love to WS buckeye shrubs of all kinds (so easy!!), monarda, giant cone flower....and also non-native daisies. I love growing rudbeckias here but many just do not take our mixture of heat and humidity along with the sun and sometimes warm summer rains well. They tend to rot out and flop badly. I also enjoy WS cannas (which are perennials here) you often get nice suprises!

I think Canterbury Bells are a biennial. I cut mine way back in hopes that some of them might return, because I forgot to sow more seeds last year. I am definitely wintersowing more this year.

Oh, and in my opinion, Dianthus Siberian Blues is pink. I got it in a trade and didn't look it up, so I was very disappointed.

Becky

In zone 5 my favorite WS perennials are Lupine and aquilegias of all kinds. I also love little cheery blue forget me nots at their feet, and daisies.

Lupine, really? Thought those should be direct sowed because they don't like xplanting, says on packet. I sowed one container just to see what would happen. Aquilegias I sowed a lot but this is my first year for those, was thrilled to find the Blue Star ones, hope they work. Swallowtail has some pretty all-blue alpine ones, may try those sometime, can't have it all. Yes, those FGM's are lovely and self-seed well, also grow the ones with the bigger seeds, Myosotis. A few spring ones bloom first year in the fall. I sowed a mix the other day of blue, pink and white. Prairie Sun Rud flops, maybe other varieties will, too. Not much that gets very tall doesn't flop around here, have lots of hoop stakes which I use for single stems and ugly tying, have to work on that.

Daisies I love but am always looking for just the right white ones.

I sure hope my Painted Daisies come back, they sulked in a container all summer, finally stuck them in the ground anyway and saw they had good root systems.

I think Canterbury Bells are a biennial.

You're right. They are, had to wait 2 years, then maybe they're done. Looks like foxgloves are, too, (except one yellow one a true perennial) and some will self sow.

I used to tend to pass by biennials (or perennials) because I didn't want to wait. I'll have more favorites if I'm successful especially any perennial violas and anything else that turns out well.

I must say finding this forum opened a whole new avenue for me, WS lots and if they don't work, so what? The ones that do will make up for it, and I can keep trying on ones I really want.

I'm just getting rid of my backlog seed collection; a lot germinate and grow but don't look so great.

Here's one Canterbury Bell that turned out to be really nice while it lasted. The trick is to have a cycle of plants going all summer, and I'm still pretty inexperienced and poor at designing like others here and elsewhere.

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