Try going to the forum for your region. I do believe there is a Great Lakes or Northern such region forum? There, you can get the locals to advise you who are doing the same thing. Make a post something like "looking for garden buddies near [city], MI for advice re seed starting" and they should be able to give you a Spring timetable. From my experience living in zone 6 MA, my last frost was around May 15th. Are you sowing outdoors in situ and/or indoors in a flat? Need to know more. Maybe you are doing both. Email me for my old schedule, as I am now in NC z7, but can still help. It is still too early to do much in z6 indoors without a greenhouse and heated mats, and almost nothing outdoors except for Nigella; cool season annuals which will germinate when ready. Sure, go ahead and sow your Cosmos. They will know when to germinate. Mine in zone 6 MA germinated in April sometime. Hope that helps.

That's what happens when one jumps around on the different forums! I could have sworn I was on winter sowing. Sorry about that. But I'll be more than happy to listen if anyone has any thoughts on sowing pansies now:) Michelle

FWIW, I don't dead head my pansy or viola's. They have been forming seed pods which have been bursting all year. So mother nature is sowing them all summer for next spring. What that means is sow whenever you are ready as they will germinate when conditions suit. SCG

of your list, these are what I've sown already... poppies larkspur lavatera asters amaranth petunias snapdragon phlox (pkt says it's annual) rudbeckia (including some that aren't hardy in my zone, like Indian Summer, toto, Prairie Sun) aster aquilegia campanula dianthus delphinium (am I too late?) joe pye weed maltese cross pansy milkweed poppies verbascum (not hardy in my area) and what I'm doing now: petunias allysum snapdragon rudbeckia (including some that aren't hardy in my zone, like Indian Summer, toto, Prairie Sun) - another round and what I'm waiting a couple weeks on tomatoes coleus cucumbers peppers- the veggies only because I just simply haven't DONE them yet, and toms because I want to wait a little longer zinnias amaranth datura clarkia celosia spicata impatiens morning glory salvia (strata and royal blaze rose) verbascum (not hardy in my area) I'm a zone higher than you. I can only hope I'm doing this right; I'm waiting a little longer on some (based on what I did last year), and getting some others in earlier based on what others are doing in my zone here this year.