It's all good. There's nothing but good when we're discussing wintersowing---or gardening of any sort. We're contributing to the beauty of the world. We're contributing to our mental health. We're improving the air quality around us. We're getting extra Vitamin D. We're getting excercise. You go ahead and grow as much lobelia as you can get your hands on.
Why limit yourself? One might grow better this season than another.

Anything else? That's pretty good, right?

Martha

Same here with penstemon. I got penstemon 'Mystica' seeds in a newbie pack last year. I WS them but since I'd never grown them before, I Googled to see what the flowers look like. Little did I guess there's penstemon barbatus, penstemon strictus, penstemon digitalis, penstemon calycosus, penstemon coccineus, penstemon hartwegii, penstemon grandiflora, penstemon mexicali, penstemon pallidus, penstemon pseudospectabillis...just to name a few. Penstemon digitalis is also known as foxglove penstemon but since the common name of penstemon is beardtongue, it can also legitimately be referred to as foxglove beardtongue. Maybe we need a game of Botanical Scrabble!

I've wintersown 'cascade of colors'. Can hardly wait to see them sprout.

lol yeah it is all good, i just have a bit of ocd i guess i want all varieties when i like something or at least see them so i can pick what i want. and to be perfectly honest until i started ws this year i never realized how limited you are at the local box stores and even local nurseries...so so much more out there to choose from, makes it so much fun but also you have to pick and choose favorites, no way to plant everything less you have a trillion acres lol.

Don't worry ymaddox, My brain's throbbing from writing an essay compairing and contrasting Shakespeare's sonnnets 18 and 116. I spent 3 hours yesterday at the school and 3 hours today! Still haven't got halfway through my rough draft!!!! :(

i bet your brain does hurt...yuck!!! lol

I had some office friends over last weekend to learn how to WS (had a ball..) and they kept saying - - how do you remember all these plant names??? My response - - sprinkle those seeds in, make two labels (one for inside, one for outside)and follow there development (checking them in container, cheecking them once you plant them) for a season and then you can't help but learn their names. I imagine it is like teachers with a new class of kids. Very soon, she/he knows all there names.

What I am FAMOUS for messing up is how to pronounce and spell their names!!!! Can't tell you how many years I was saying "Calandula" wrong! It's always embarassing.

Oh the spelling is horrible for me also!!

I remember one time I was working as just seasonal help at a nursery. Well a woman came in looking for this bush. Well I said it as it was spelled, Cotton Easter. One of the workers cocked their head at me and said "What" I said "yes you know that bush down there that cotton easter" she laughed and laughed at me she was like "no no no it is pronounced cottonie-esther". LOL Of course needless to say the customer got a good kick out of it and I felt like a huge idiot, but I will always remember that!!

In my defense it seriously looks like it should be pronounced cotton easter, LOL!!

Oh I have to tell you this one also!! I was working alone at one of the sub stores of this nursery. Well this woman came in and she was looking at the herbs. I said oh yes here is the thyme (yes I pronounced it with the Y very prominent, lol) This lady was all dignified and the type that would have her husband digging and planting as she sat back with a glass of tea pointing her finger. She cocked her head at me and said "what is this" I said "yes it is a cooking herb" she said "oh well how do you pronounce it" I was like "thYme" so oblivious she was being a smart tail to me, lol. Well she did eventually correct me, and I felt so stupid and ignorant I wanted to crawl in a hole and hide, LOL.

Second on the penstemon-- six kinds WSn this year.

Then there are tomatoes. Only the limits of a 32'x3' patch and the odd growing seasons here kept me from collecting about 3000 varieties. xD

Lol @ CC!! I can only imagine how sheepish you felt mispronouncing these ridiculously difficult plant names! I have that problem, too. Luckily I have avoided the embarrassment of mispronouncing them to strangers! In a nursery of all places...I feel for ya!

I just wanted to share that I found this great website that has a key to pronunciation, and thought it might be useful to those of us who are challenged in this area!

Unfortunately, you have to scroll down to find your plant name, but at least you can hear a clear pronunciation of your plant. Hope this helps!

Here is a link that might be useful: Pronunciation Guide @ FineGardening.com

that is a great site! thank you steff!

Yeay! Im glad I could actually help, being such a newbie and all.

I found also that if you do a search for your particular plant, it has info AND the pronunciation in one spot. So no need to scroll to find your plant like I had originally thought.