Well some may give you flowers in September and some won't germinate in the heat of July and August and some may not flower at all. Is it too late--I'd say so, but if you want to try go ahead. If it were me I'd save them for next year and get a summers flowering from them. With the Calendula--direct sow in early spring. They do not freeze unless there is a hard frost and they are seedlings. They will drop their seeds and come up again and again.

My experience with Joe-Pye Weed is the opposite of Nevermore's and more like Mad Gallica's - it sprouted everywhere if I didn't deadhead religiously, so I ended up removing it from the perennial border. I'd definitely be glad to have it in a wild area to enjoy with other garden thugs like Symphyotrichum/wild asters and Solidago/goldrods and Eupatorium perfoliatum/Boneset, but it has tenacious roots that made weeding it out a chore. Ken's advice to check in the winter sowing forum is good. That way they will get whatever chill is needed and start growing at the optimal time. They aren't tropical plants, so the chill can't hurt them. As an aside, the old name for this is Eupatorium purpureum, but the new name is Eutrochium purpureum, so depending on the source, you might find it listed under either one. I think this is one of those plants that was put into a different genus when the botanists started doing genetic analysis and realized that some plants may look alike as far as flowers and seeds, but not be too closely related.

I have to go one of these days! I should sign up to get the email as it's my only hope of remembering... I live in northern San Diego county, in a little pocket of the "mountains" where we have a very temperate microclimate - 10 miles in either direction can be 10-15 degrees warmer or colder than where we are - perfect for my gardening habit. Normally, though, I wouldn't plant out this early either, but last year we had an abnormally warm February, and as soon as I saw that this year seemed to be going the way last year did, I got in high gear. I like it when I can get things in early (especially tomatoes) as we always seem to get heavy insect pressure when it really starts to warm up. The bigger the head start I can get on those dang spider and russet mites, the better.

if they are already germinated .. what else would you do with them.. plant them ... you have nothing to lose... in my z5 MI .... there are a lot of october/fall variables that would be against a late bloom ... like shortening days... cool days.. cold nights ... etc ... whether or not they will make it to the finish line.. would be left to the fates .... ken