Not at all. Echinacea doesn't require cold treatment, although it might have higher germination rates with some, and neither does Cosmos (I usually sow mine in the Spring, but sowed some for the winter-sowing experiment already). I've never sowed Shasta daisy but assume it's similar to coneflower or Rudbeckia and would germinate fine.

There's still plenty of cold weather left in zones 5/6 for those seeds that require cold stratification too.

I've even started shasta daisies in summer and then planted then out into the garden in fall.

The first time I winter sowed was after learning about it a few years ago in early March. I put out a handful of containers probably halfway or 3/4 of the way through the month, and everything did beautifully, from veg to flowers! I say keep putting them out��"even in summer I'll plant a few so that I have new things to plant (is this an addiction?) in autumn. Go for it!

I'm still putting out containers and will through the end of this month into April. Most of what I'll do from here on out are things like zinnias and sunflowers that I could direct sow, but have better luck shepherding the seeds in a milk container than I do leaving them to battle on their own in the garden. Plus, I still have lots of prep to do in my beds. Why are the weeds always the first to sprout?

Update. Could not find my cosmos seeds from the old house. Very disappointed. But my shasta daisy and purpleconeflowers did well in the styrofoam containers from the fish dept at grocery. But will they bloom this year? Only about 5 or6 in. tall, but multi leaves.

Could not find my cosmos seeds from the old house. Very disappointed. But my shasta daisy and purpleconeflowers did well in the styrofoam containers from the fish dept at grocery. But will they bloom this year? Only about 5 or6 in. tall, but multi leaves.

Some coneflower packs say they'll bloom the first year if planted early enough. Mine didn't bloom last year when I sowed them, but are budding now. I'm not sure about the daisies. In my experience very few perennials bloom the first year. If you grab a pack of cosmos, which are annuals, and direct sow they should bloom.

Hey danoah, in zone 5/6 I don't think that most Echinacea will bloom the first year. There are some seed strains that they claim will bloom the first year, but they don't for me. They start to bud in the fall, but there isn't enough time for them to fully bloom. That is okay, I am patient.

I actually bought and sowed 3 new varieties of Echinacea seeds from Swallowtail seeds about 2 weeks ago. This includes 'Prairie Splendor', 'Magnus Superior', and 'Baby Swan'. They have all sprouted!