OK, thanks, I think I'll give it a whirl then and WS them. Never have grown them from seed before so I wasn't sure what to do. Kmpsmom, our weather here in Zone 6B tends to be sort of similar to Zone 7, so that's great to know you had success with WS'ing them. We had a cool spring and summer here in PA too because of all that rain. Aliska12000, I think I'll hold a few pansy seeds back too, that's a good idea. Maybe I'll sow them in containers in the spring just to see how those work. Thanks again for your follow up posts! Now I just need to get more seed starting mix...

Hi, Does anyone out there have any weeping japanese maple seeds or tri-color birch? Or even harloquin maple I would love to try and winter sow these...take a look at my list and see what you might like.

Ipomoea pennata is the old synonym for the current legitimate binomial of Ipomoea quamoclit. Ipomoea quamoclit does re-seed and can come back prolifically depending on climate and the local conditions as present in a particular growing area...e.g., if the soil is well tilled , the seeds will more easily sprout... Ipomoea quamoclit has not been problematic for me...and I find that the finely divided foliage allows light to pass through the finely dissected leaves to get to any other plants that it may be growing on or with...a plus from my perspective... Ipomoea sloteri http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=Ipomoea&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=sloteri&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&searcher%5Bgrex%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=genus&images_prefs=with&Search=Search is a hybrid of I.quamoclit and I.coccinea having leaves with larger lobes The longer a species is grown in a particular climate , the more adapted to that climate the particular strain becomes...i.e., plants grown in Florida for several or many generations would become progressively better adapted to Florida than to Maine...plants that have successfully grown in Maine become better adapted to regrowing in Maine... There are reports of Ipomoea quamoclit being 'invasive' up to a zone 5 , but seeds collected from plants that have become adapted to a very warm climate are likely to be less troublesome in a colder climate because the seeds will be less likely to survive the cold damp conditions of early Northern Springs... I'd like to suggest for additional consideration the following species : Moonvines Ipomoea alba http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=Ipomoea&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=alba&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&searcher%5Bgrex%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=genus&images_prefs=with&Search=Search Ipomoea macrorhiza http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/65128/ Ipomoea turbinata http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/54954/ Ipomoea carnea - an upright bush form in pink,lavender and white http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/12125/ Ipomoea lindheimeri - A native warm zone caudex forming perennial http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/127323/ Ipomoea pandurata - cold hardy perennial - does not spread invasively by roots or by seeds... http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/207097/ Ipomoea setosa - perennial in very warm zones only http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/86512/ Hope that helps... TTY,... Ron

RedQueen, I'm in SW Michigan (zone 5) and I did MGs for the first time last year. I didn't plant my seeds until about now, and the first month of growth was SLOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But once they got up to about a foot tall, they REALLY took off. Suggestions: For fast growth and foliage, you *DO* want to water them. Then once they are established, cut down on the watering and they'll flower more. But for little "babies" that aren't to the flowering stage yet, if they don't have enough water then they won't have what they need to grow. Once they are growing strong (sending out tendrils), you'll want to watch them EVERY DAY if you want to get complete coverage for the teepee. These things grow like the dickens once they get going, but they're not very smart about *where* they grow. You'll want to direct them to the bare spots on your teepee each day so they don't just start growing on each other or heading back down towards the ground. (Learn from my mistake, please!) The vines are very forgiving of your manipulation, too -- I've unwrapped them where they had spiraled around each other a dozen times and directed them to where I wanted them to go, and they just kept on going. But it takes a LOT more time to unwrap them than it does to just direct them in the right spot in the first place. In my experience, Grandpa Otts isn't the fastest/strongest grower. I found that the Mixed Colors seeds grew faster than the other varieties I had last year (grandpa otts, tricolor, and heavenly blue). Good luck!