Lysimachia nummularia?

3ob, The seeds on your Astilbe plants may have dispersed, but sometimes some of them linger. Just take the whole dried flower stalk, place in a clear bag and let dry with the top of the bag open. After a couple of days, shake the bag and those teeny tiny things on the bottom of the bag will be the seeds - and yes, I do mean teeny tiny! You should also try the seed exchange forums instead of buying. Someone may have them available for SASE or for a trade which is much cheaper. About the Eupatorium. I tried winter sowing for 3 years before I met with success, but I think I'm the only one which has had difficulty with germination on this one. I would get very frustrated when I read about how easy it was for others to germinate. I never gave up and was rewarded quite well. There is no rhyme or reason to Digitalis at times. They grow in sandy soil and in rich soil on our property, in full sun and in full shade. Other than giving mine a mulch of compost, I don't feed them.

This is turning into a very weird weather year for many of us. Because of that, it's hard to give you an absolute answer. Be aware that no matter what any of us tell you, it's nature that has the final answer in when those seeds will sprout. My best guess is that it's probably fine for perennials hardy to your area, and hardy annuals too. I'd definitely wait for anything tender. And if perennials and hardy annuals would sprout early, they have a much better chance of survival in their containers. And keeping them in a shady spot is definitely a good idea until spring is in the air. This is probably our coldest part of winter most years, and it's when I sow my hardy annuals and perennials. I sowed my first jugs a few days ago. I'd go for it if I were you. The chance that they'll sprout in shade is minimal I think, and winter might just stay mild this year. Karen

The sooner you can get the seedlings out of their WS containers and potted up for the sale the bigger they will be. I would use something like miracle grow potting mix, plain kind, not with moisture retention. The fertilizer in it will help them grow. Give the seedling some room for root growth so that when you sell them, they are established in the containers used for sale. !0 inch plastic or styrofoam cups would be good. If you use plastic cups, give them several holes for drainage. If you use styrofoam cups, just poke your finger through the center of the bottom of the cup. That will be more than enough drainage. Once you pot them up, and don't forget to label them with something that won't get destroyed by the weather or fade real quick, you can keep them all together and if you have a late risk of a frost night, you can cover them overnight for protection. Don't use wooden craft sticks for labels, they will quickly fade on you with the rain on them. Sharpie is best on styrofoam cups and you can write on the cup. Deco paint pens are the best paint pens to use on the plastic cups and black is the only color I use. I have 5 year old plastic markers with deco black paint pen and they are still in perfect condition to use this year. You could also add some of those craft stick markers as labels about 2-3 days before the sale if you want to. Fran some pics of WS seedlings dates June 1-June 5th 2008 HOS petunias in a birdbath torenia blue and white lime basil 3 pots of dill licorice basil Thai basil sweet basil nicandra splash of cream inside the fenced flower bed. mix of various types of zinnias, marigolds, petunias, malva zebrina, poppies, dwarf dahlias, salpiglossis, chinese forget me nots and several other annuals Cosmos, about 12 different varieties. they grow at different rates, so some seedlings are much taller than others