You'll have to be willing to do a bit of work on your own behalf, but if you go to the wintersown database for Zone 5, you can just look up all the plant names you propose and see whether they WS well in your zone:

http://web.archive.org/web/20110901154631/http://www.wintersown.org/wseo1/MiddleZones567.html

I can't help you on the winter sowing part as it is my first year trying it.

But I can tell you my favorite seed companies are Summer Hill seeds, Swallowtail seeds, Diane's seeds, and Harris seeds. I have had EXCELLENT service with all.

If you want you can email me and let me know where you live. I am in Michigan. I always have plenty of plants to divide and share

Eounymous fortuneii and Virginia Creeper would be much easier and quicker from cuttings.

Ferns don't produce seeds. You'll need to research growing them from spores if you are determined but it's a long winded way of going about it and you wouldn't necessarily get as good colours as if you begged/bought divisions of a named cultivar. Same goes for any hybrids and named cultivars of seed bearing plants.

Thanks everyone. I am continuing to research and learn. This may be a dumb question but how would I go about buying cuttings and divisions?

You will be able to WS the majority of the perennial plants you have listed and you will be AMAZED at how easy and cheap it is. I hav cut and paste your list and these are the plants I have easily ws'ed:

Goldenrod
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)
Pink or purple coneflower
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Perennial Salvia (Salvia nemorosa)
Liatris
Coreopsis
Dianthus 'Firewitch'
Aujuga
'Magic Carpet' Thyme,

That doesn't mena the others can not be WS, but I have not personally done them.

Rule of thumb: If the perennial is growing in (other people's) gardens in your area (zone), you should try growing it by WSing seed.I try to get all my perennial seeds done by the end of February to insure that any that need a cold period get one (I can't keep track of those needy seeds too well, so I just make sure all Perennials are sow by 2/28.) The cold can't HURT any perennial seed (for your zone) so sowing by 2/28 gets them done for me and then I move on to biannuals and annuals in March/April (late April for very tender stuff.)

I wish you the best of luck. This forum has been very quiet but there are hundreds of WSers who just LOVE it. Healthiest plants you've ever seen. They may be smaller than ones you might purchuse the first year but by year 2 and then 3 - - watch out! Your beds are full!

I suggest you invest in the big bales of Pro mix if you are going to do many containers.

Nancy

Thanks Nancy. The list I posted earlier was based upon recommendations. Are there any other perennials/groundcover/grasses you would recommend? I'll post some pictures of my project tonight.

My list would be similar to Nancy's, but your initial list reminded me that I want to try astilbe this year (and totally forgot to order it with my other seeds. Darn). I finally have a shady area for it.

Caryl

The list I have experience with is similar to Nan's as well, however I have also started Daylilies and many native prairie grasses successfully from seed.

I'm pretty sure most or all of the other plants on your list can be started from seed, although they are not likely to be true to the parent(s). Cuttings or buying small specimens at a B&M or online nursery are a good idea if you want the true cultivar. Also check out if there are any plant swaps in your local area - a GREAT way to get larger divisions! (Edited to add: even if you are a newbie, they are most welcome at swaps, because gardeners are friendly and welcoming, but also because there are people with mature gardens who have to cull their aggressive mature perennials!)

Also, your list consists of primarily perennials, and they will be slow to develop and put on size. If you have large garden beds with expanses of mulch, your WS babies will not make much of an impression the first year. I would recommend filling in the gaps with lots of annuals grown from seed - both by winter-sowing and direct sowing. They will grow much more quickly and be large and floriferous by late summer! I love my annuals!

This post was edited by terrene on Tue, Jan 22, 13 at 11:31

Thanks everyone for all the great info! I'm attaching some photos below to give you an idea of the scope of our project:

{{gwi:348975}}
Backyard Plan Overview

{{gwi:348976}}
River Birch Grove

{{gwi:348977}}
Back of House (Serviceberry) and River Birch Grove

{{gwi:348978}}
Aerial View

{{gwi:348979}}
Back of House

{{gwi:348980}}
Behind Pool (Back of lot)

{{gwi:348983}}
Back corner around playset

{{gwi:348985}}
Redbud Grove

As you can see, I have "seas" of mulch that need to be filled in. Plus we will be landscaping the front yard this spring. Thanks again!

Since you have so much space to work with and seem to be pretty open as far as plant suggestions, I would suggest you get a newbie seed packet from Bakemom from the link below before ordering seed. You will probably get many of the seeds you are looking for and then some you didn't even know you wanted.

It will be a while before all those trees and shrubs fill in so I would encourage you to experiment with lots of different annuals and perennials to see what you like. Cram as many in as you can without totally covering up the trees and shrubs. Then as the trees and shrubs start to take off you can remove the plants you don't like as much to make room for them. Over the years your yard will gradually transition from sun to shade anyways with all those trees, which will change what types of plants you can grow beneath them. Mother nature doesn't like bare ground, so any of the mulched area you leave unplanted will be planted for you with weeds!

Also if you want a quantity of some specific cultivars that cannot be grown from seed you can get divisions from other gardeners or just buy your own and divide them regularly to fill in. Many of those are common landscaping plants that are readily available come spring or as clearance plants in summer/fall. Many on your list are also easily divided and some require it frequently to look good anyways. Dividing large clumps of miscanthus and siberian iris can be a real chore, so I hope you have a good back.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bakemom's Newbie Seed Project