Fall sowing hardy annuals zone 5/6
llailiall
7 years ago
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llailiall
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Zone 6 in N.E. - Best Time to Begin Sowing Annuals
Comments (6)You can sow them outdoors in covered containers right now -it is a method called wintersowing - I have been doing it since January - no need to try and find places in the house and chase the sun and it works GREAT - many gardeners in your zone are planting right out in the garden now with wintersown hardy annuals. There is a forum here on GW devoted to it. Read the FAQ first to get an idea of what we are talking about - then ask all the questions you want - these are very helpful gardeners and eager to share - it will change your whole way of thinking.... Lynne Here is a link that might be useful: WinterSowing...See MoreWinter Sowing Annuals in Zone 5
Comments (18)laurelin, where do you normally get the white heliotrope? I didn't find any last year around here. You can email me off line or post here. Like laurelin, I normally do my annuals in early to mid March. Last year I did petunias, alyssum, godetia, marigolds, celosia, calendula, salvia, lobelia, hyacinth bean, and amaranthus with great success. I tried heliotrope last year but they didn't start to bloom until the end of the season so I will start mine inside real soon. I think it's good to experiment - I've tried almost all my hardy annuals in Jan and Feb and had success and some not. I just find it easier to do the annuals in March since I'm doing perennials earlier and feel I'm guaranteed to have success with the annuals when wintersown in March. Last year I did not buy any annuals except for Proven Winners Diascia 'Flying Colors Coral'. I still plan to purchase this since I can't find these seeds (not sure there is). However I am wintersowing a few other types of diascia - I hope it works since it's my all time favorite annual(tender perennial)! :)...See Morewhen to sow canna in zone5/6?
Comments (1)Spring. Late winter would be okay if you germinate the seeds in pots and keep them in a sunny window sill or otherwise provide sun and protect them from freezing until the soil in the ground warms up. When you're ready to do it, use edge of a file to scratch a little nick in the outer shell of each seed on the side of it. That will allow water to get in and speed up the germination. Then, soak the seeds in a glass of water for a couple of days. After a day or two, you might see a white radicle, or rudimentary root begin to emerge from some or all of the seeds. That means they are germinating. Take those out and plant them in pots. If you don't see the tips of the radicles yet, you would at least hope to see that the seeds have swollen a little. Whether they have begun to germinate or not, I plant them in pots after a maximum of three days in the water. Unless the seeds are dead, they will germinate. Don't leave them in their first little pots too long. When the soil has warmned up, put them in the ground or into larger pots....See MoreFall sown annuals zone 5
Comments (3)Try fall sowing some Bupleurum. I grew some last year and it self sowed in several places and came up very early around the beginning of March. The biggest plants are now around 3.5 feet tall and starting to bloom now just a week after my last frost date. I also sowed Bupleurum seed this spring (on March 5th) but it is only about 4 inches tall, it's a pretty amazing contrast between the two. If you haven't grown Bupleurum before, give it a try. It's a nice neutral filler with chartreuse flowers....See Morellailiall
7 years agollailiall
7 years agocoppermaven
6 years agobella rosa
6 years ago
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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK