Well, I could have started sowing them already, because I put them up against the house foundation on the south side, and it stays warmer there, so they would be okay even if they sprouted a little early. But I just sowed a last few hardy seeds yesterday and I'll wait until next week to get started on the tender stuff. This is mostly because we have a WINTER STORM WARNING for Thurs nt/Friday! This is not an April Fool's joke, they are predicting up to 1 foot of snow! Thought we'd seen the last of the snow this season.

I'm going to sow mine in about two weeks, mid April. Our last frost date is usually May 14th, but I'll sow mine in containers very similarly to how I wintersow to keep them warm in case of a dip in temp, which has been the running theme the last few weeks here! Right now clear plastic cups in zip lock baggies is my favorite method.

I am in zone 5a, and I usually start my tender annuals in mid-April. They sprout so quickly! I throw a row cover or blanket over the containers if temps dip into the low 30s/upper 20s.

Also, I ring my sprouted tender annual containers with my perennial/hardy annual containers to create a little bit of extra insulation from cold nights.

At ellenr--I believe if you go to weather.com, there is a feature to look at historical weather data. If you plug in your zip code then scroll down a bit, there is a heading on the right titled "Today's Averages and Records." Just a little beneath that heading is a link titled "Historical Data." Click that link, and you can look at average, daily temps for your area. This might help!

cheers,
Norabelle

thank you Norabelle,
I think someone told me about this feature once, and I forgot how to find it. So thanks.

I'm now sitting here in my jacket with the heater on, as I just came in from outside and it is rainy and cold!
yuck!
Will this winter never end?!
I will wait til next week to sow annuals, sup'd to be in the 50's next week.

Terrene, I heard about that winter storm warning - no joke indeed. I remember in NJ when I was a girl (long time ago!) we had a huge storm the 1st week in April - dumped over a foot of snow.

Hope you fare better in this storm.

I planted out marigolds today - but, I held back about three quarters of them. We have very unpredictable late frosts. When I had more space I planted marigolds, tomatoes, sunflowers very early, early, about right, and saved some for late.

In Zone 5/6 when would you guys transplant annual flower plants in your garden? Do you go straight from WS container to garden or you go from WS container to some other pots and then go in the garden?

Im holding out till the middle of april also,they sprout so quick and really grow fast,so Im not gonna push them..well maybe just a little,lol

I'll do them sometime in the next week or two. Maybe a few this weekend.

Off topic, I got a few perennials in the mail today from Santa Rosa Gardens. This was my first order with them and the plants look good.
Echinacea Hot Summer (I've been lusting for this one)
Agastache Summer Fiesta
2 Verbena Homestead Purple
Gaura Crimson Butterflies

Karen

I'm waiting to sow my tender annuals until after:

...there's no chance of a killing frost
...there's no chance of another foot of snow
...there's no chance the temps will drop below 32 during the day when I'm at work

This has been a winter of extremes with 8 ft. of snow + a record low of minus 19 degrees in January. The coldest I remember is minus 15 nearly a quarter century ago. The weight of the snow crushed some of my WS milk jugs. Some of my WS containers dried out; that never happened last year so I've decided to err on the side of caution and not risk losing my annuals by sowing them too early. I can wait--once they start blooming they'll keep going until the frost gets them.

gardenweed,
I agree, this has been a winter of extremes, I am also going to err on the side of caution.

Jagg- Most WS'ers go straight from the container to the garden.
If I have to keep my seedlings longer than usual in the container - for example, if there just isn't time to put them in the garden - I will add a very small amount of fertilizer to the watering.

@ Jagg, in my zone 5a, I do not plant out tender annuals until the third or fourth week in May. My last frost date is May 15. If you look up your last frost date for your location, this will help you determine when to plant out the tender annuals.

In addition, since I don't sow my tender annuals until the middle of April, mid-May is when they have two and three sets of true leaves and look ready to crawl out of the containers. Plants go straight from milk jug to the garden.