Hi Michael,

I'll mostly do vegetables and annuals, although I do still need some perennials for my flower garden -- it's nice and full, but I used a lot of annuals to fill in while I wait for the perennials to mature. This creates its own problems, like where do I put the perennials when the annuals are hogging the space where they're supposed to go (and the annuals are just too pretty to pull).

I started wintersowing probably eight years ago. I, too, didn't have much luck with starting inside and never committed to a light setup. I was skeptical at first, but after sowing two jugs of marigolds and petunias and getting amazing results I was sold. But the real leap of faith was using it for my tomatoes the next year. When that worked out I was a true believer.

Good luck with this year's crop.

Caryl

I will be winter sowing mostly annuals as my beds are full perennial-wise from previous years of winter sowing. Extras are given away. Also am trying some more difficult to germinate perennials just for fun. Most of those will be grown on and given away the next year.

Edited to add:
Here in z:4 some annuals still need to be started indoors to get blooms that aren't really late. Also start my tomatoes indoors. Shop lights in the basement laundry room serve double duty by lighting overwintering tender plants and seedlings in the late winter/early spring.

This post was edited by mnwsgal on Wed, Nov 12, 14 at 9:42

I do mostly flowers, any and all that will take wintersowing. I use them to patch in spots in a wild area of my yard that I'm slowly turning into a huge wildflower patch.

This year will be my 8th year winter-sowing! I like starting plants from seed, and have been doing so since 1986. For many years it was under lights or direct sowing, now I do mostly winter-sowing and direct sowing.

I mostly winter-sow flowers, but also grasses, veggies, vines, shrubs and trees. This year I might have to rein it in a little, I have big gardens and they're getting stuffed. I also start woody plants from seed and then can't figure out where to plant them!

I WS for myself and for my friends and this year, I even planted a few annuals and perennials out at my local community theatre and plan on doing so for next year. I cannot wait for this season to start! :)

I've had terrible luck starting seeds other than WS, but I do get Moonflower Vines and Morning Glories to germinate rather quickly using the paper towel and plastic sandwich baggie method.

I mostly do flowers but have also done herbs (Spearmint, Rue, Parsley, Chives, Lemon Balm, Chamomile, and Fennel to name a few).

I'm very excited to get some Magnolia seeds (courtesy of Michael ;) ) and try them for the first time.

Brad AKA Moonwolf

It's exciting to see what other people are doing :)

BeesNeeds, I am also hoping to do a more wildflower area too!! How did it look this year? Did you use a combination of WS and plant buying or just Winter sown plants?

terrene, Sounds wonderful! I would love to see your gardens! I still keep finding spots to throw new things but the shrub/trees seeds I have this year....thats a different story lol no idea where most will go. Probably give some away :)

and good luck Brad!!!

Less then a month before the excitement starts :)

~Michael
heavenlyfarm

I got some acorns, beach nuts and pine seeds. I planted some outside, have some in pots inside, and a couple in pots outside. Trying to see which ones do best. Ultimately trying to replace lost trees cheaply.

This post was edited by edlincoln on Thu, Dec 4, 14 at 0:42

I still have yet to decide what I will be sowing this year. It depends on what I get back in the swaps I guess. Also, there are some perennials that I love so much I sow extras of every year just in case I lose any over the winter. If I don't lose any I try to find a place for them or give them away. I love my prairie dropseed grass, cardinal flower, prairie smoke, and royal catchfly so much I don't ever want to be without them!

I've had some luck starting trees and shrubs too even though I don't really have anywhere to put them. I have three wild black cherry trees and six spicebush seedlings in the veggie garden temporarily that I grew for host plants, but have no where to plant them! I'm going to have to try keeping them small through pruning or containerized. I'm also holding over a wafer ash in the pot for another year while I decide where to put it.

I also wintersow some tomatoes and greens every year. The last couple of years I had to buy a couple of tomato plants though because the spring was so late to warm up.

I used to give a lot of extras and divisions to my brother. But he lost interest right after planting, let the whole garden get overrun with weeds...... and is going to rip it all out and put grass in again :( Sigh. If you give plants away, give them to a true gardener....or at least to someone whose garden you will never see!

molanic, that is sad!!! I guess it is not everyones cup of tea I suppose!! I'd rather replace more grass with plants if I had the choice here at my parents house!! Lol

My aunt is into gardening and flowers and has always supported me with gardening and loves getting new seedlings and plants she has never heard of! Lol Plus I might have a plant sale if my parents decide to have a big yard sale again(its been years since we did our own!). It is fascinating and just fun to meet other people who are as passionate in what they grow and their gardens!

I also might use parts of my new veggie beds as temporary seedling holders!! lol I am gonna try some of my white magnolia seeds just to see if I can grow more! lol I also managed to get tons of peony seeds from someone locally(crossing my fingers for some in trades too!) and I do have spots...just not as many planned spots if they would all germinate! I am not getting my hopes up tho and will be happy with a few seedlings! I would be so proud of myself! Also trying red twigged dogwood( I first saw it on a blog and it was so impressive for winter interest!!)

~michael
heavenlyfarm

Thank you, Michael!

Good luck to you, too! It's always nice to share a hobby that you're passionate about with a family member, friends or even people at the store lol. I'd be wandering around the plant/garden section of Wal-Mart or in a nursery and just mention to someone how pretty a certain plant is.

Brad AKA Moonwolf

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Gardeners are a passionate bunch and love to share/talk about what they're doing. And we all need to give thanks to Trudi for sharing this method that works so well.

Less than a month to the solstice -- happy sowing everyone.

Happy Holidays,

I will be doing a lot of natives like standing cypress, gold yarrow, white yarrow, lots of salvia's, and a lot of annuals this year. Last year I forgot about them, therefore, I had no annuals last summer.

I'm actually going to try to DS Lobelia Cardinalis this winter (testing).

Hi Fellow Winter Sowers :) Last year I did mostly perennials, it was my first year and man I kind of overdid it with the containers. It was pretty exhausting planting everything out come May/June (although it was exciting at the same time having success with the winter sowing method.) This year I'm going to do less containers and focus on shrubs (Canadian serviceberry, mock orange, miniature roses) and ornamental grasses. Time to stock up on soil and take stock of my containers. Btw, I winter sowed cardinal flower (red) last year. The seedlings stayed super tiny most of the summer, but by late fall had leafed out. Hoping that they flower next year.
Best,
Sara

This is my first year winter sowing. I got so excited when I read about the method this summer, can't wait to start (and more to see the results!) I have grown some seeds indoors and never done very well. This year I started a major garden project in a home we bought a few years ago. The backyard is all grass, I added a few hostas/daylilies, but this spring, I decided it has a good amount of sun and started digging up grass and making garden beds all around the perimeter, around the deck, etc. It was alot of work, but FUN. I added quite a few plants thanks to trades and a few generous folk, and some purchases, many on sale or starter plants.

Ordered too many seeds, but mostly perennials that I want for additional color/blooms and variety of plants (or more of what I have)...and to fill in many areas where I still have space,but if all my seeds wintersow well, I will no doubt have some to give away (and maybe trade??) I also purchased some herb seeds and plant to have a small herb garden as well, and a few annuals that are interesting to add to the perennial gardens.

Sara: I have also winter sown red cardinal flower last year. Most grew descent leaves and hopefully they will bloom next year.

Southerngardening24: Cool, let me know if they bloom next year! I almost pulled mine up by accident when they were little thinking that they were weeds. I have a wildflower garden and I've learned to let things grow a bit to help determine weed status (yay or nay). :)

I've been wintersowing nearly ten years, and focus on native plants and those that provide nectar and pollen for the beneficial insects. If I'm lucky, and find eggs, then I raise caterpillars until they become butterflies. The Monarch Butterflies are especially endangered, so I try to encourage anyone I can to plant milkweeds, which are their host plants, and avoid any chemical use in the garden. I also love to collect seeds for trading or donating to several seed-gifting projects. I love the enthusiasm of everyone on this forum. It really is one of the most friendly and helpful.

Martha

Sara: Will do. :-)
Martha: I have about 8 winter sown orange butterfly weed plants in my garden. One had a tiny bloom on it this summer. They should all bloom next year. Hopefully some butterflies will find them.
You are right, this forum has lots of friendly and helpful people. It seems the posts I read here are written with smiles on peoples faces. :-) Mine are as well.

Martha,

I believe it was you I got the Dark purple malva seeds from last year (?). They were gorgeous this year and I hope for more flowers next year!! I have 3 planted around a yellow Julia Child Rose which I hope will bloom in the future and I think the combination will be deadly!!! :))

Also did a huge patch on my one hill of yellow and orange milkweed seedlings.(18 maybe?) No blooms this year but I hope next year or the year after, I will have flowers, larvae and butterflies over that area!!! It doesn't look like much now but I can't wait!! I also hope to WS more of them this year if I can find anyone with seeds :)

I love this forum, it is a great way to garden! I enjoy gardenweb just as much! I have met so many great friends and people that I hope I can share my experiences with for years to come! :)

~Michael

This will be my first year WS. Hubs is getting tired of sharing the living room, dining room, family room, etc. with countless seedlings from Dec thru April (and sometimes May!), where I put up shelving and grow lights each year. I just bought another two 6' 5-shelf units last month, before I decided give WS a go, although I'm sure I'll still plant a few flats inside, just in case.

I ripped up several metres of lawn this past fall to expand my herb gardens, so that will be my main WS seed focus. Herbs and bee-loving native flowers, as I'm planning on adding a couple of top bar hives to the gardens as well.

Depending on how successful WS is, I would also like to border the orchard with herbs/flowers.

Michael/Heavenlyfarm,
I'm so glad you are enjoying those Malva plants. I got the original seeds from the yard of one of my hospice patients. I love to have plants that remind me of special people who have touched my life.

I may have some more A. tuberosa seeds, if you want to sow some more. The tuberosa actually has less nutritional value than some of the other milkweeds, and is not usually the Monarch's first choice for egg laying. But, they are beautiful and provide a great nectar source, and caterpillars can complete their development using only the tuberosa. I focus more on A. incarnata, since they seem more popular for egg laying, and they go to seed earlier, so I am able to harvest seed before the frost hits. I'll check my seed stores and send you an email.

Regencyclass, I think you will be surprised and pleased at the number of plants you will get via wintersowing. I would count on being able to expand any and all beds you are dreaming of. Post some pictures for us next spring/summer.

Martha

This will be my first attempt at WS. Moved into a new home built in the middle of a hay field a couple years ago. Need lots of plantings to fill in around the house and deck. Got huge areas to try and fill in. Buying plants will break you in a hurry! Looking at perennial flowers and ornamental grasses for starters.

Super excited to try WS for the first time!

I am going to have rethink my wintersowing in the next couple of years. Since I started wintersowing to test the water because I had trouble with growing the starts inside. Wintersowing finally was able to produce plants that actually lived and survived.

So i was able to try new to me varieties than I can find in stores near me and so cheaply. But now my flower beds are getting full and I am running out of space in sunny spots in my yard. And with my perennials started a few years ago maturing now and getting fuller the gardens look great.

So now I start veggies, and annuals to fill in spots that bulbs in the spring leave empty so I have alot of pots. Mainly petunias and I love zinnias and cosmos. I am always on the look out for cool perennials to try.

Now i just need to find more shade loving plants.

Paula

This is my first year winter sowing. We're rehabbing the garden of our new-to-us 100 year old house. It's been gardened over the years but abandoned for the last 20 years, so by the time we got all the weeds and invasives out it was mostly bare apart from the survivors of gardens past. A strange combination of bare soil, 20' rhododendrons, huge clumps of buried bulbs and scattered roses, day lilies and ferns.

Thanks to some generous seed donations I have over 200 day lily seeds that should help stabilize some of my steep slopes, a few vegetables, and some flowers. And I'm anxiously waiting by my mailbox (like a kid at Christmas!) for my last two batches of free-seeds-for-newbies.

If I don't get any broccoli, green beans, or snapdragons I'll probably order those, but other than that I'm up for the adventure of anything that'll grow in my climate and not be invasive. Really intrigued by the spider flower seeds I received. :)

First time poster, long time lurker! I am a newb at WS. I am planning to wintersow for a new butterfly garden. Various milkweed, zinnias, black eyed susans etc. We built a pergola in the fall so have big plans for getting the back yard filled up with vines, flowers and less grass.

~the other Trudi, zone 7 :-)

I can't wait to get started. I have been winter sowing for many years. This year I placed two big seed orders for new to me plants. I also snatched some pods off a beautiful purple day Lilly. I am expanding my flower beds (again lol). Grass is over rated.

I winter sow for a few different reasons. One is that some seeds have better germination rates when winter sown. Another is that I don't have to store the seed overwinter in the frig. I keep a plastic box the size of a shoebox in the frig, full of seeds, year round, but sometimes all the seeds just won't fit. Also, you have to keep an eye out for mold and to ensure sufficient moisture in stratification media. Finally, I can winter sow now and not have quite as much to do later when things get even busier.

I grow things for a variety of reasons. I guess first would be to populate my arboretum/botanical garden. Each year, I try to find a handful of plants that I don't already have, and many of these I grow from seed. I usually plant way more than I need to ensure that I get a few plants even if there are germination problems. I end up giving lots and lots of extras away each year, many at the East Tennessee Plant Swap, of which I am usually the primary organizer. Sometimes I grow things that I don't really need or want, but that I think others around here might. These are traded and/or given away at the swap. I try to grow enough different things that everyone at our swap will find something that they want. Another reason is because of my addiction to growing things. I'm probably the only one here like that (-; but it's hard for me to imagine not growing stuff and getting to watch all those cute little seedlings popping up. Of course the downfall to that is that I frequently end up with more stuff than I can easily find homes for or plant myself. I've caught up a little more with getting everything planted this year, but I know I will probably never completely have everything planted by the time it needs to be.

I grow more trees than anything. Currently I have somewhere around 100 species of trees and shrubs growing at my arboretum. Each year I try to add at least five to ten more. I've grown more than half of those from seed. I also have quite a few perennials, many of which I have grown from seed.

This is my 8th year of Winter Sowing. I sow very little nowadays just to fill the gaps. This year I plan to sow:

- Tellima grandiflora to add to my two plants
- Catalpa to plant on the parkway on our street
- Petunia for my planters and friends
- Lobelia for my planters and friends

I will direct sow vegetable in late spring:
- cucumber
- beans
- tomatoes (I may sow some tomatoes indoors in April - I am a little concerned about this prospect, because I do not want to ruin my brand new oak floor in anyway. :-D)

Sorry, I do appreciate to everyone who post! and I do read them, I just haven't had time to post lately and say I appreciated!! :)

brandon7, I kinda understand where you are coming from! Last year, I planted alot to redo all the hill gardens and gardens my mom had...this year I have TONS more seeds and so many neat things I love! Even tho I have gaps, I don't have alot of "good" areas to plant things I love which sucks but I can't resist planting seeds and bringing them to life! Like I'm a mom/dad of a thousand seedlings! This year, I will be doing alot and idk how many extras I will have but I can't wait to find them homes too! (Its a great way to start talking to people you meet! Lol)

I did think about saving a special seed box for seeds to save for when I have a house(hopefully in a few more years...hopefully 3 more years from now) but I hesitate. I feel bad for not planting them or giving them a home ASAP! lol I'm a weirdo, I know!

daisydawnny, I wish I could convince my dad that less lawn is better!!! LOL

pugetsoundgardener, I would love to see your gardens that you are working with!! Are you keeping much of the stuff that is still there? Sometimes it sucks when they already did gardens or "landscaping". I am hoping to find a home with not much already done so I can do most of it, in my image! :)

HAPPY WINTER SOWING EVERYONE! :)
~Michael

Honestly there's not much left after 20 years of neglect, but we kept everything we could. We left the lovely 20' tall rhodies down one side of the garden and relocated a few that were planted in front of the windows plus a few little volunteers. We have this fantastic rhody forest that really anchors one side of our garden. Of course we kept almost all of the beautiful pines - 100' tall western red cedars plus a few scattered others. We did pull out one of the three that were planted just a few feet apart (!) which seems to be really helping the other two, and we lost our big coast pine in a windstorm.

The sword ferns and day lilies are invaluable - we relocated the ones that were badly placed. We have a few fuscias including one with these incredible red flowers with purple centers. We had to relocate that too. I really hope it survives! Let's see, one azalea, one camellia, an unknown broadleaf evergreen, a few lonicera nitida, plus a few still unidentified shrubs and I think that's it. I suppose it sounds like a lot but we have nearly an acre of steep hillside. After all the blackberry, English ivy and morning glories went (all listed invasives here) there was a lot of bare soil.

We've put in about 20 fruit trees that I'm espaliering on the tall terraces along with a row of raspberries. I planted a nice mixed box and lonicera nitida hedge to match up with the old one on the neighbors property. I contour planted with dwarf box to retain part of the hillside. And we just picked up 30 azaleas today to retain the steepest remaining naked hillside. I'll infill the with evergreen flowers and plants of one sort or another. I've gotten quite a few herbs in and going plus some onions and garlic near the fruit trees and some miniature roses that I got ridiculously cheap at the grocery store. I'm winter sowing a lot of flowers including a ton more daylilies (someone gave me 234 seeds!) and a bunch of lavender plus of course veggies. And that's probably more than you wanted to know. :)

this will be my first year winter sowing, even though i have been saving containers for YEARS!!! lol i figure i better put them to use or throw them out, and i hate throwing things away!!
i will winter sow tennessee coneflowers, misc milkweeds, wild ageratum, penstemon, columbine, sideoats gramma, asters, bundle flowers, blazing star, cardinal flower, cleome...
i had thought about constructing a light stand, and i still may, but winter sowing seems much easier.
thoughts on my selections?

I've been wintersowing since 2003, but haven't been on GW for a handful of years. This year I'm in a rental instead of having my own place, but the landlord is agreeable to me gardening. I'll be doing most of my veggies in containers, and one smallish raised bed, but I have shade to spare in the back yard. I expect to be here for a while, so I'm going to take it slow and have fun. This year I'll be sowing 4-5 different kinds of tomatoes in large containers, and sweet and hot peppers in containers; cucumbers, melons, pole beans and peas in the raised bed; sunflowers for an accent in the garden; and an assortment of shade loving annuals and perennials for the back yard. The soil isn't great, but I've got an unlimited supply of composted horse manure from my daughter's riding stable, so I'll be amending and planting as I go. Any surplus seedlings I'll share with my neighbors in the duplex - their daughters are fascinated by my gardening efforts since I moved in (transplanting my daylilies from the old house into two new beds in the front yard). And, I've got one batch of daylily seed I crossed last year, in defiance of the move and the upheaval in my life. Gardening is a gesture of hope and perseverance, right?

I started WS about eight years ago, thanks to the enthusiasm on this forum. I mainly sow natives, especially hard to find in the trade or expensive to buy. Many species need two or three years to germinate, but I live on seven ac., so nobody complains about the ghetto.

I belong to several plant groups that have exchanges or auctions to raise money, so I can donate plants. I even have a permit to share some of the endangered plants I have grown. I love doing this, but this summer I broke my elbow and am still not totally recovered, so I don't know how much I can do this season...may be time to let younger people take up the torch, i.e., trowel!

This will be my first year to winter sow. After working non stop for 46 years I have finally retired and want to create my dream flower garden. I am on a fixed income and cant buy a lot of plants so I have lots of seeds given to my by friends and family and I placed one large order for seeds. Ive been dumpster diving for milk jugs and started planting today. I so hope this will give me lots of plants come spring. I have dreamed of a garden for years but never had the time to work in one. The people on this site have been wonderful to share seeds and instruct me how to winter sow. Cant wait till spring!

I'd like to try winter sowing prairie smoke again. I tried last year and no luck. Will try again this year.

I went to a seminar on Winter Sowing last Saturday given by a local garden association. We had a hands-on demonstration and got to leave with one bottle. I chose hardy hibiscus and red canna seeds for my first attempt. Since Saturday I have started collecting plastic bottles and I am getting very excited about starting a perennial garden. I ordered some seeds and can't wait!
I am planning on having a nursery bed to keep all the perennials for the first year. I just bought this house and I plan on having a perennial border - but don't have anything full grown to put in it -yet! :) Does anyone have any suggestions for a new perennial gardener?

What zone/state are you in? That can make a big difference in what you WS. Have you started laying out the perennial beds? If you are going to wait a year to plant in them, it would be good to start conditioning the soil. I usually did not plan ahead. You might look up lasagna gardening. It's a very easy way to create new garden beds. I did it will a couple and those two beds were the easiest to plant.

This is an experiment for me, first year trying it. I had a bunch of seeds left over from last year so I thought why not try it and see how it works. I picked up a 100 pack of to go containers for really cheap because I just recently learned about winter sowing and I hadn't saved any containers, I plan on filling them all. I already have a variety of seeds sown, herbs, tomatoes, eggplant, annual flowers, onions, peppers, cauliflower and more. I've never had a problem with any other sowing technique but this just seems so easy and I didn't want to waste last year's seeds. If I am as successful as some others on here I'll start everything this way next year it's so nice to get my hands in the dirt in winter :-)
I want to fill my gardens and extras will go to family, the local Master Gardener sale, and possibly direct sale.

I've got lots and lots of flower seed that I'm wintersowing this year- 37 containers so far. And at least a couple dozen more to go through the next few weeks.

These are getting planted in all over the place. I have an area of the yard I call the sanctuary that I'm slowly but surely filling in with plugs of different self sowing annuals and perennials. On the other side of the sanctuary is getting filled with different types of milkweed and other butterfly and insect flowers. Some others are going into the shady area in front of the house. Still others are going into a whole bunch of different spots around the yard that I want to be able to sow once, then leave to let them do their thing.
I'm trying to WS thimbleberry for the first time- I want to cultivate up a patch of it on the back 40 somewhat around where the wild blackberries are growing- and where I plan on putting in the gooseberries I've overwintered, and later, raspberries- I want a big ole area of berry picking goodness. And bramble goodness to help keep out some neighbors I'm having trouble with- they can pick on their side, and leave mine alone, lol.

Later in the season will be my WS of grape hyacinths- I WS them late in the winter in their containers so I can plant them in in blocks to a border around my solarium. I've found this works better with WS than it does trying to set them in in the fall when they are supposed to be planted. WS them kind of forces them to grow a bit faster and more solid than in the ground.

I've considered WS some herbs and maybe veggies- but this depends on if I still have any containers and dirt leftover from doing up all the flowers!

I usually plant vegetables among my flowers in lasagna beds created along my backyard fence. But this year I have been given a can of 35 packets of heirloom vegetable seeds and have no room to plant indoors. So I'm trying winter sowing. It just makes sense; every year I have volunteer tomatoes, cantaloupe, pumpkins, you name it. I have 13 bottles planted and standing in the winter weather (?) on my patio. I just hope they don't germinate too soon. Winter is conspicuously absent this year here.

This post was edited by elfinowl on Sat, Jan 24, 15 at 1:11

This will be my first year wintersowing - have always started my seeds inside under lights or else direct sowed. But after reading about it here on GW, and being exposed to everyone's enthusiasm about it, I've caught the bug! Only have 7 containers started so far (annuals and perennials), but will be doing more today. Thanks for everyone's info - great forum!