You have an interesting and intriguing set of conditions to plant in. I can't answer your questions, but if your Extension office is anything like mine here in KY, they have booklets galore to help you. And there's the www.nativeplantcenter.org. But you probably already know this! Also, look on the Winter Sown faq here on GardenWeb. The idea is winter sowing in trays, etc., but on the faq you'll seed what seeds - natives - can be sown in the colder zones. It would be worth the experiment to toss some seeds out where you'd like them to grow.

I hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: Westchester County Extension Office

Thanks. I knew it was a tall order but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask. Coincidentally, I just took a walk around the grounds today and was happy to see that some seed (partridge pea) I had scattered willy nilly has grown.

Monarda grows very easily from seed. So do any of the echinaceas.

Bob, one native seed I've found to be very prolific is the Spotted Jewelweed. They like damp/wet ditches or your area near the stream would fit the bill nicely if that species is native to your area. Seeds from this plant are not ready yet but should be starting to harvest in the coming weeks.

Native Columbines should germinate fairly easily if you have access to them.

I find most other native seeds harder to grow mostly because a lot of them take 2-3 years to germinate (at least in my region).

Good luck with your seed sowing...

Barb
southern Ontario, CANADA

For sunny areas, Black eyed Susan is about the easiest plant to grow from seed. moist areas would be good for Clasping coneflower, which is also very easy from seed a similar to blackeyed susan. Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) grows easily from seed and tolerates wet and shady conditions pretty well, same goes for Spotted Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis).

Thanks.

I have a bunch of blue lobelia I grew from seed of a plant that sprouted. I late winter sowed them in march when there was still snow and they all sprouted. (I put them in potting soil and put the pots in a cat cage to keep the squirrels from emptying the pots). Last year they were all rosettes, and looked horrible. This late summer I have beautiful spikes of blue blooms from a good percentage. Some of the plants have white flowers. I had to baby those rosettes to keep them from being choked by creeping charlie.

Lobelia don't do well if it is too dry, or so sunny they dry out. My best lobelia are in partial shade.

Direct seeding doesn't work well for me because I have so many trash plants, creeping charlie, lambs quarters, etc that push out less vigorous native seedlings. If I clear the ground to direct seed, the trash plants come in even worse. So I winter sow, and transplant. Then I let the new plants self seed to the small degree they can

Eventually I hope I will have a higher percent of natives

I am going to try starting cottonwood trees in pots. My giant seed making cottonwood just doesn't make seedlings in my environment of lawn, trash plants and thickets.