Only the Strong Survive?

12 years ago

I probably have 30 or so containers that have sprouted - I've taken the plastic (used mostly baggies) off the tops, as it tends to collapse onto the sprouts when it rains. (I don't go through all the rigamarole of finding something to prop it up with). We still have a few freezes to come and go, and I have decided this year to let them go - only the strong survive. Much of what has sprouted - poppies, snaps, hardy geraniums - I can pretty much count on making it through. I do have a few I am wondering about, though, like tithonia and eucalyptus.

Anyone else do this? Or do you all cover when freezes are expected? Note - I have not sown any of the more tender annuals, like zinnia, cosmos, marigolds, yet.

I am getting to be a lazy wintersower!

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Comments (8)

kqcrna
12 years ago
Hi, Kim!

I'm not certain, but I think the tithonia are pretty frost tender. I've grown them and never had a volunteer either. Up here I didn't sow them until later in the season, but Alabama is way different from Ohio...

Hope they all do well for you.

Karen
drippy
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks, Karen - you know, though, I am going to leave them and see what they do. I have more tithonia seeds, and if they don't make it, I'll just re-sow at a later date.
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christie_sw_mo
12 years ago
Please report back and let us know how cold it gets and what makes it and what doesn't. I'm especially curious about tithonia since that is one I'd like to start early. I DO get volunteers on that one but they come up kind of late. Karen - If you're not getting volunteers, it might be the birds at fault rather than the temps.
bakemom_gw
12 years ago
i always considered tithonia to be in the same category as zinnas in terms of sowing. I could be wrong as I have never had a good showing. I don't think my yard has enough sun space for those.
ladyrose65
12 years ago
My Clarkia sprouts look like they are not going to make it. I checked theTidy Tips look okay.

Are the Tithonia related to Coreopsis? Look like they can be in the same family.
drippy
Original Author
12 years ago
Okay, here's my damage report. Most of these were sown from older seeds (so may be weaker anyway), most had the tops all the way off, all were in the very tiny seedling state. We had three days of deep freeze at night, daytime highs hovering around freezing.

What died:

Eucalyptus
3 snapdragon containers - I was a little surprised at this, but they were very small, few sprouts
Nepeta Blue Infinity
Tithonias, 2 - this didn't surprise me
Eupatorium coelistinum (which looked pretty weak when it came up, anyway)

Surviving, but looking very dicey:

2 containers of annual poppies - still bright green, but weak lookinig
Macaranthera
Lupines (weak when they came up)
Leucanthemum Crazy Daisy
Inula helenium
2 hardy geraniums
Saponaria ocymoides
Queen of the Meadow
Filpendula vulgaris
Hollyhock, Blushing Juanita

What sailed on through:

Viola, Helen Mount
Welsh onion
Rudbeckia, Toto
Monarda citriodora
Helenium autumnale (native to this area)
Eryngium Blue Hobbit
Baby's Breath, Covent Garden
Dianthus, Lady Jane Seymour
2 containers of dracocephalum
Geranium Orchid Blue
"Blue" poppy (I don't think this is meconopsis, but time will tell! :))
Echinacea angustifolia
New England Aster (1 sprout - might be a weed, I'm not sure yet)
Centaurea Aloha White
Chicory
Myosotis Bluebird
Comfrey
Geum, Lady Stratheden

I am not worried about any of the losses - I have more seeds for nearly everything, and even if I don't have those specific varieties, I have scads of others. I am leaving the dead & dicey containers alone - there may be more seeds in there that haven't sprouted yet. But for those of you who are really particular about having a specific plant, I would advise keeping covers around in case of freeze, unless they are perennials that are strongly established sprouts - the really tiny stuff succumbs to the cold.
christie_sw_mo
12 years ago
Glad to see the report Drippy. It's important to share results even when it's not positive. That's how we learn. Were any of your survivors annuals for you besides the poppies? I don't recognize some of those names.
I'm still holding off on winter sowing my annuals, partly because I still have a few perennials left to sow. I have trouble finding time. I do think I'll start some annuals before my last frost date and keep them separate from the others so I can rescue them if the temp drops down real low after they germinate.

I just can't accept the "only the strong survive" theory. If I have seedlings I'm worried about, I either throw a blanket over them or carry them into my basement depending on how cold it's supposed to get. Must be my soft heart. lol
I almost always reserve some seeds in case of failures but I've found that I get lazy and just don't get around to resowing the ones that fail to germinate or the ones that germinate then die for various reasons (slugs, rabbits, neglect,etc).
drippy
Original Author
12 years ago
Christie, of the survivors, monarda & centaurea are both annuals. Rudbeckia is annual/short lived perennial. I suspect the "blue" poppy is an annual - a lot of traders will describe anything that falls in the purple range as blue. It would be nice if this turns out to be a meconopsis betonicifolia, but I'm not counting on it.

This is an experimental year for me. I don't actually care how much of my stuff survives, as I am very short on planting time this year. What I am not short on is seeds - most of what you see up above are seeds packed for or traded in 2006-2008 (the geum is from this year's trade). I am noting just how old these seeds can be and still germinate, and whether they come up weakly or strongly. I figure I will then have a sense of what I no longer need to hold on to. I expect to have more gardening time in the 2012-2013 season, and I will probably provide more protection for things then, as I will be more concerned about their survival.

Only the Strong Survive?

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