Yes, Cameron - they are prickly. We have deer (and rabbits, etc) - but I didn't notice the malvas eaten - which may not really mean anything because I have tons of borders and the deer may have just passed the malvas on the way to something better... Japanese beetles, however, go for Malva but they are so gorgeous, it's worth it. They reseed great but the only problem with larkspurs, poppies and malvas (from my experience) is that they are very difficult to transplant. You may be able to lift them when they are really small (the malva/larkspurs), but transplanting small reseeded poppies are really difficult and sometimes almost impossible because of their long roots. Maybe someone else on this forum has had luck transplanting them, but I haven't... The cleomes can get very, very tall. The larkspurs I have found look great in the early spring but as it gets really hot, I have found the foliage starts to get yellowish and a bit ratty. Unfortunately, I like to harvest the seeds, so I deal with the foliage a bit longer than I like.... Carrie

Different seeds require exposure to different cold periods. Some require several weeks warm, then at least several weeks cold, then warm again. These are best planted in the fall. Other seeds need only a cold period and then they germinate when the weather warms. This is the type of seed that forms the core of wintersowing. Still other seeds don't need any special cold period, but the cold doesn't hurt the seed. You tend to get a stronger seedlings (exposure to full sunlight spectrum and wind, less likely for damping off to hit, etc.) that don't need to be hardened off by seeding outside instead. Some seeds just can't take wintersowing; they are most likely to rot before germinating. These are usually the most tender annuals and herbs. Most of us wait until spring to sow those. I have the best luck in my zone and conditions with waiting to seed out basil and sunflowers until last, usually right around now. I don't know that you get especially earlier plants to plant out with wintersowing compared to under lights because germination doesn't happen until the temperature of the soil reaches the preferred point for each seed. Then the seedling grows at a rate that responds to your environment. The other advantages that wintersowing offers over starting under lights are 1) you don't have to figure out how many grow lights for how many hours and at what temperature the seed tray needs to kept. The seeds respond when mother nature provides the correct set up. 2) you get unlimited room to start seeds instead of what you can fit under whatever lights you can afford and have room for. Northener also hit the target with the differences between direct sowing and wintersowing. Reseeding plants usually produce thousands of seeds because so many will be eaten, rot or be washed away. Wintersowing ensures that I can plant the particular plants that I want where I want them instead of where the seeds end up. Of course you can put tomato seeds out in April. But you will have a more difficult time balancing not letting the container get so hot that it cooks the seeds with keeping the container closed to provide the high humidity that the seeds benefit from. Wintersowing is about easy and successful seed raising with equal emphasis on the easy and successful.

What seeds are you wanting to sow? Many seeds don't need any cold stratification to germinate. I sowed about 5 types of Echinacea at the end of May and have many small seedlings now. They did not need any cold treatment. For those seeds that have a tough seed coat and truly need 1-3 months of cold wet conditions to germinate, then it's easiest to just wait and sow them in the fall or winter. They are ideal for winter sowing, not summer sowing.

Scarlet sage (Salvia Coccinea) should still bloom from seed by fall, they germinate quickly, but take some time to get going on clay. They're not 100% perennial in zone 8a, but a lot can eventually return depending on mulch/weather and they do self seed well. They bloom from now until frost, but best show for us has been in early fall. Your spot sounds good because they seem to appreciate a little shade. We've been happy using them as a temporary ground cover in the open spots while the shrubs grown in. Here is a link that might be useful: Salvia coccinea at wildflower.org