I too sow very heavily (if I have a lot of that type of seed). The only ones I don't are ones that I don't have a lot of seed for or larger type seeds such as nasties, four oclocks, mg's, etc. It actually makes planting out easier for me. When I tear off the hunks and there are a ton of babies there, I don't worry too much if a seedling or two get buried so things go so much faster! That is a good problem to have. You should contemplate your problem over a large slice of cake and a glass of good wine (or soda or whatever). Happy Dance time! Congrats!

Yay Brad! Good job on those HOS. I've got Campanula golmerata sprouts - common name bellflower. Are those the same as your Canterbury bells? Both my blue flax and phlox have sprouted but they're nowhere near as far along as yours. Last year I could have sworn I was Z6a. I've finally started seeing some sprouts pop up in many of my containers so the green wave is s-l-o-w-l-y making it's way north & east. It's so cold none of them are showing any signs of sending out a true leaf but they will when they're ready. I worked outside yesterday & today clearing winter debris from the flowerbeds and hauling it off to toss along the far back boundary out of sight (mostly). I can feel windburn on my face from the strong, brutal wind that had me bundled up in multiple layers for protection from the cold. The sun felt good the few times it poked through the cloud cover.

Lithops can be safely transplanted any time really. I have 100's and I have never noticed any harm even though I have re-potted many times throughout the year. I would say mid-summer when nights are very warm would be the least favorable choice. Most Lithops are inactive at this time and if you wind up damaging roots, recover will be slower. An extended cold period may also be a less than ideal time. In reality, as long as you transplant with care and leave the plants cool, dry and shaded for a few weeks before you gradually acclimate them, you should not have any problems no matter when you transplant. Perhaps seedlings need more pampering, but adult plants can easily withstand some abuse. x

Just wanted to post a followup on this for anyone who may come across this thread in the future. I always hate finding a thread full of good information, but then not knowing if it actually worked or not. I replaced the trees that died, and the new ones are doing great. Here's what I did differently. (I know that for some of you, these may be the most obvious things in the world, but some of us are still learning, even from our really stupid, obvious mistakes). - I waited til it cooled down. It got cooler earlier than I expected, so I was able to do the transplants a couple weeks ago. - Smaller trees. I did still really need the height, so I went with 6-8' tall trees (some are about 9', actually), but I got much smaller caliper (trunk diameter) trees. I tried for no more than about 1.5" caliper, measured 6 inches above the root flare (some are a little closer to 1.75"). They're definitely much less full, but they'll get the job done until they fill in and grow up a little. It helps a lot that I found out that for screening purposes, eastern red cedars can be planted as close as 4' apart. Bigger, fuller trees really aren't needed at that spacing. - No starter fertilizer. These are trees, not grass. I used some Fertilome Root Stimulator & Starter solution (per the manufacturer's instructions) when I planted, and may add some Superthrive in a couple weeks, just to get the roots really going before winter kicks in. - Much better care of the root balls. I didn't make perfect root balls, as such - after reading a whole lot of back and forth between scientists on the benefits of good root balls vs taking as much root as possible, even if they're outside of the dirt, I kind of went with a hybrid approach. I got as much root as I could, and kept as much dirt on them as possible. I kept all of them covered with dirt of some type for as much time as possible, and ensured that they never actually got dry. Total time from digging to planting was less than 4 hours, and most of that time, they were in some kind of dirt. - I watered with a sprinkler for a few days, to let moisture come in through both the roots & leaves, in case the roots were having difficulty of some kind. Then I found out about Wilt-Pruf (prevents moisture from escaping through the leaves, which causes a lot of transplant shock). I applied it per the manufacturer's instructions, and am now watering with a soaker hose, as Wilt-Pruf should also prevent absorption of water through the leaves. - I haven't mulched yet (life got in the way unexpectedly), but I will be soon. Something else I came across in my reading - mulch isn't required, but most bushes or trees that are mulched in their first year or two after transplant show 20%+ more growth than those that aren't. Since growth & size are my primary goals here, it's worth having that junk in my yard for a year or two. We'll see what, if anything, will grow under these trees once they're established, but for now, it's gonna be mulch. Thanks, everybody, for all the insights provided. Hopefully these results, and what I did to get them, will be useful to someone else in the future, too.