This is turning into a very weird weather year for many of us. Because of that, it's hard to give you an absolute answer. Be aware that no matter what any of us tell you, it's nature that has the final answer in when those seeds will sprout. My best guess is that it's probably fine for perennials hardy to your area, and hardy annuals too. I'd definitely wait for anything tender. And if perennials and hardy annuals would sprout early, they have a much better chance of survival in their containers. And keeping them in a shady spot is definitely a good idea until spring is in the air. This is probably our coldest part of winter most years, and it's when I sow my hardy annuals and perennials. I sowed my first jugs a few days ago. I'd go for it if I were you. The chance that they'll sprout in shade is minimal I think, and winter might just stay mild this year. Karen

PM2, go ahead and sow both the columbine and the California poppies now. Those columbine seeds will germinate whether you plant them out during the winter or in the spring. Just remember that columbine can be very slow to germinate or very fast. Don't give up on them if they aren't any sprouts in June, or July or even August. I had several containers out and nothing all spring and summer, then low and behold come, Labor day weekend, the seedlings decided to say "hello". They grew very quickly too, much faster than in the spring and I planted them out in early Oct. One good way to plant the columbine seeds is to use an individual container for one plant. make it at least 5-6 inches deep. Then put about 15-20 seeds right in the center of the container. Press the seeds into the soil, but do not cover them with any soil. cover and let mother nature do her thing. When the seedlings are ready to plant, then just take each container and make that one plant. That's how the seeds are sown at nurseries and that's why the plants we buy are so large. They put that many seeds in one container to make one plant. Oh, no need to soak the columbine seeds. The California poppy seeds. I never put them out before mid March at the earliest and have put them out as late as mid April as well. Just sprinkle them on the top of the soil, press them into the soil and do not cover the seeds with any soil. They will germinate just fine and no need to soak them either. Fran

I'm right on the edge of 7B and 8 and I wait a bit to sow the annuals that can't take frost at all (zinnias and such). That's because we have so much warm weather in the winter that things typically sprout within two weeks but we also have sudden hard freezes right up until early April. If I sow the tender annuals too early I have sprouts that can't take the cold. I presume that those in colder parts of the country don't have the problem of things sprouting so early and so it's not a problem to go ahead and get the seeds planted. One big reason I love wintersowing is that it is so much easier than alternate methods. I avoid the hassle of having to cover or move (or worry about) those eager little sprouts by just waiting a while. I'll probably take the chance and sow the fussbudgets in late March.

Very nice! They look great :) I grew zinnias this year for the first time. I think they were early spring sown. I was surprised how quickly they germinated, and they're quite healthy and pretty. I didn't think I would be that impressed with zinnias for some reason, but they're great, and I will definitely sow them again next year. I grew mixed lilliput zinnias, but they are much taller than I expected. A couple of the plants have peach colored blooms which are quite pretty. It's great to try all kinds of things because you don't know what you'll end up liking. There were several other plants I was so excited about initially that ended up not being what I expected, but the zinnias were a pleasant surprise.