Susan, Some zinnias bloom as quickly as six weeks from seed. Zinnia Thumbelinas start to bloom when they are only 3 inches tall, and grow only about 6 inches high, so they would be suitable in a lot of containers. Zinnia Zinnita are similar, but slightly larger and a newer (possibly better) strain. Zinnia Short Stuff has larger flowers on short plants, and is also suitable for pots. Some seed sources offer Zinnita and Short Stuff in separate colors. There are places on the Internet where you can enter your location and find probability data regarding killing frost dates. If you don't mind stating what town and state you live in, we could try that here. But, as you know, there is nothing certain about the weather. ZM (not associated with any product or vendor mentioned or linked)

I would like to try direct sowing some flower seeds in the Fall to assure that I get blooms in the Spring from them. Here's my dilemma..For the last two years,We have paid somebody to do our Fall maintenance and put down mulch. My husband insists we have mulch spread both in Spring and Fall. How can I continue to have the fall mulching session and direct sow flower seeds where I want them to grow? I feel that the Fall mulching keeps the soil too moist or wet. The soil is very rich, I think it needs to be lighter if that makes sense. Hubby wants the flowerbeds to look neat, even in the winter. I feel that there's still mulch left on the flowerbeds from the Spring Mulching..why pay for adding more? If I direct sow before Mr. B comes to do the Fall mulching, won't the mulch smother the seeds and they not be able to germinate? If we do have Mr. B to Fall mulch, can't I just pull the mulch away to sow the seeds and not put the mulch back where the new seeds are sown? This question seems so long but I need to work this out in my mind. I have never sown any seeds in the Fall.

I found sunflowers to be somewhat frost tolerant when I put them out in the two or so weeks till last frost. The four o clocks and cypress vine are very frost tender in our zones.

Thanks Gardenluv. I guess I sort of figured that. I am just one of those people that always second guesses myself and find things to worry about. I was hoping to shorten the learning curve because I have this ridiculous fear of making a mistake - even if it isn't a terribly costly one or doesn't have severe consequences. Guess the only thing to do is fall back on the good old scientific method. Maybe I'll stagger my winter sow dates a week or so apart - see what happens. I have plenty of space, and likely plenty of seedlings - I'll try some one way, and some another, and do a side by side comparison. Eventually I'll have my own system, know what to repeat, what not to repeat. This is my third year, last year I tweaked a bit, did a couple things completely differently, and had better results than the first year. I've made a few changes for this season, and hopefully will have better results than the 2nd season. I guess that's not such a bad plan. My marigolds germinated, I have my first WS sprouts - so I guess I'm doing something right enough, or it really is just so easy that it's hard to mess up. Of course, I am still worrying about the marigold sprouts - will I have to thin (I hate to do that, it feels like I'm wasting something, then I have overcrowding issues), will I have to separate for spacing, can that even be done without damaging roots, can they wait two weeks to be planted, is my soil bed deep enough, will they be ok while I'm away. If anything else sprouts I'll be in real trouble, I won't know what to worry about first. I suppose it just wouldn't feel normal if I wasn't needlessly worrying about something insignificant. Thanks again, Sherri