Mine were fabulous last year, but this year seemed hard on them for some reason....

Try them again next year...maybe you will like them....

With the exception of some sturdy pinks out front the rest of my balsam fizzled and died. I am very disappointed. Webkat is right, they are fabulous most years.

I have two that I didn't particularly care for... One was Cerinthe. It looked good for a few weeks, but then the leaves got crisped edges. I had some in full sun and others, dappled shade. I saw one at Annie's Annuals this past Spring that was just huge and spectacular. I guess they just don't like me. I have a few self-sowed seedlings growing now so perhaps I'll find they prefer the different season.

Another was Scabiosa. They all layed themselves on the ground and looked kind of wierd when I finally staked them. I'm sure it was probably something I did... too much fert, water, etc.

My dislike was Cleosia. I've never been fond of the flower shape but when they came in a swap I figured I'd try them since they are supposed to be a good cut flower. They are okay I guess but they must not have much of a root system because they fell over in the rain right at the peak of bloom. Now the stems are all twisted.

I'm not wild about cactus flowered zinnias, or striped varieties. I think next year I'll stick with large single colors, and the Profusion series.

Really, drippy? That's so funny! I have all solid colors of Zinnias and I was just thinking a little striped, zoned or cactus shape might be just the thing for next year. LOL!

However this might be my last year with the Profusions -- I hate how they fade! And I hate the colors they fade into. Profusion Double Cherry is the worst of the lot.

That Cerinthe - I really liked it, but it sure takes up a lot of room, and I had a boatlaod of them. I had to pull more than a couple because they were not good neighbors. I *should* pull some Nasturtiums, but I am letting them over run their neighbors.

I couldn't keep enough water on my Balsam impatiens and they fried before they even bloomed. Right plant, wrong place.

Since most of my 300 jugs of WS babies were perennials, I haven't seen a lot of them bloom, and I haven't really been disappointed by anything except what I bought at Lowe's -- Coreopsis Limerock Ruby. It bloomed for a week and then it quit. Just like that! -> snap fingers. Now I have a plant with very fine foliage of green and a whole lot of brown seed heads. I'm pretty sure it won't be back next year, so I am going to collect seed from it, but that means putting up with a VERY brown-looking plant for another 3 weeks or so.

Some things that astonished me were butterfly bush that started blooming about 2 weeks ago. From WS seed??? I would have said it was impossible, but it's true. I have 2 different kinds and they are bigger than the garden centers are selling and blooming.

And annual Asters -- Sea something -- Drippy, you got some of these -- They are humongous and very, very pretty. The flowers are like Ragged Reggie or Simba marigold, only bigger and in blue, bright rose and creamy white. I had never seen annual Asters before. :)

The other surprise was Dahlias 'Bishop's Children'. I didn't realize those could come from seed in one year, but they've been blooming non-stop now for like 6 or 7 weeks. They're much bigger, with way more flowers, than the little Figaro dahlias you see at the garden center in sheet packs.

Lime

I don't care for stock or Calendula. I don't know why people rave about stock's scent. I would rather have Marigold Lemon Gem in the garden.

I have WSed twice now, and have done cerinthe and clarkia both times. I like both in spring when they first bloom and cerinthe I like just because it's so odd, I guess, and the clarkia is just fresh and early blooming. As soon as our summer heat gets cracking, though, they both fry and need to be yanked, leaving gaping holes in my beds. No clarkia or cerinthe for me next year.

Another plant (not WSown) that I'm just tired of is peony. I had 3 large clumps of it which had been in the ground for over 20 years. They've just gotten too big. I got rid of one a few years ago and the other 2 are going this fall, to be replaced with smaller WSown stuff that I like better. Besides, I need the space.

Karen

Last year the disappointment was the cactus zinnias for me, they didn't hold up in flower arrangements like my other zinnias.
This year the Lisianthus I bought off a fellow MGer who now has a cut garden flower shop talked me into. They weren't doubles , nor the cutting variety.

I've never had much luck with stock either. And limerock ruby coreopsis has done the same for me every time I've tried it, & it never returns. I don't know why they keep selling it as a perennial in my area. I overwinter several things that are for zone 7 & 8, but this has not returned, & I've tried at least 3 times. Put it in different places, & in well drained soil. Don't bother collecting the seeds, Lime, I've read the seeds are sterile, & I've never had anything germinate when I tried them(twice).

Hi Nancy!!!! Your butterfly bushes and willows are doing just great!

Darn! I was thinkig that might be the case on the Limerock Ruby. I still have my receipt from Lowe's and I might take it back to try something else. It makes me mad because I cut into a rare daffodil while I was planting it. I wish I hadn't bought it.

I want lots and lots and lots of red lobelia next year. I have soooo many daisies and other composites that I feel the need for spikes!

Lime

Oh, and busylizzy, that's really good information on the Cactus Zinnias. Thanks!

Lime

Of my wintersown plants, I'd say the african daisies disappointed me the most. Had them planted in 2 areas, they blooms, but with little foliage and were floppy.

I also planted the swizzle and "envy" zinnias. They aren't that impressive to me, I think next year I'll stick with the bold, solid colors.

I had a few disappointments this year.

Lavender Moonflower Vine. I was so excited at how easily they germinated, direct sown. Came up fairly quickly and started to climb. They have protrusions on the stem that hold to support nicely, then they opened and what a let down. Very very small flowers, lavender color was okay, but there was no fragrance either. Plus the lower leaves yellowed and had to keep pulling them off. The two attributes that I grow them for...large size and fragrance and it had neither.

Petunias. They do germinate easily and when they first started going, they bloomed well for me. I just got very tired of them quickly and then they stopped growing well. I had deadheaded them all along, so I don't know why they pooped out. I fertilized more than usual. Plus they just weren't as good looking as I was expecting.

Nicotiana, I lost my labels and mistook the small seedlings for petunias and planted them in a container in just about full sun. They have really struggled there. But I had one container in about 4 hrs of sun and that one should have had no problem at all. It never looked good. Leaves yellowing, dead blossoms dropping on itself all the time, leaning. I just didn't enjoy it.

Aquilegias from trades, all were mongrol colors..spotty or two toned and not in an attractive way. I will have to try more next year.

My own Calendula, purchased from commercial seed, was so pretty last year and the reseeds this year were bland.

Not my best year...lol.

pm2

My clarkia and godetia were pathetic this year. Last year I really loved them.

I'm pulling ALL my Alaska Shasta Daisy. I have shorter varieties now and I just can't stand the flop. I tried pinching them early spring, but it didn't seem to help much....they still got too tall and flopped right over.

I'm considering pulling my maltese cross. It blooms nicely for a few weeks in early spring but then it looks nasty for the rest of the season. Maybe I'll pull it next year right after it blooms unless anyone has any suggestions....I do love the blooms.

Petunia frillytunia white has been a BIG bummer. I got the seeds from Parks. Not pure white...many blooms had a tinge of pink, not very frilly, help up terribly rain and the slightest wind, and while my other petunias are still doing relatively well, this container looks downright sick. I'm going to dump it soon.

Deb

I was thinking of giving my Alaska Shasta away to a neighbor, but maybe I should just throw them on the compost pile. I winter sowed Snowcap, and Becky, and although they haven't bloomed yet, they look like they are going to be much shorter.

I did the same thing with my Alaska this year and had the same result. Not only that, but the buds actually opened up already eaten by some bug.

Cerinthe did look gorgeous in early spring/summer but quickly become huge, unruly and was not looking good anymore. Had to pull out.

My disappointment was Love in a mist. It flowered great and still is, but it is about 3" tall. I thought it would be a little bigger, like atleast double that!

gardenluv, that's what my Love in a mist did, too! I'm glad I'm not the only one! I know it's supposed to be different from that, but that's what I got this year. I guess that's a hint that the soil there is still awful(in my yard). I keep playing with the seed heads, which are touching the ground at this point, and saying "I'm a giant! Look how puny this 18" tall plant looks compared to my frightening height!"

Well, I have had the most surprising results from wintersowing. BUT...I had RESULTS!! And that makes up for all the "Huh?" moments. However...I wasn't expecting the rank growth of the cosmos I put out. I wintersowed both the ones with the delicate foliage and the "sulphur" ones (that look so much like rag weed when they come up). And both have just gotten out of hand. They are amost six feet tall and bend over and root from the stems that lay along the ground - NOT attractive! The "fern leaf" ones are not flowering very profusely. The yellow/gold ones are just insane. They are making my beds look really messy and wild.

Cosmos do better planted among other plants that they can lean into, in my experience. I have never tried to sow them in an area by themselves. Those that reseed from one year to the next, for me, are much sturdier than those started in containers and they don't flop. They lean, but don't actually go over onto the ground unless again, they have no stronger neighbors or there is a bad summer storm.

I added them to a new bed last year, and the container started cosmos did the same thing that you describe. This year, there are reseeds from those floppy plants of last year and they are standing and leaning and looking very good in my beds.

I had another all sun bed with lots of different plants in it and the cosmos were such an asset in that bed for 10 years. I never had to sow them once I had them in the bed, they would come up every year and not in nuisance proportions. The bed was full with no spaces between plants, as they had grown into each other and no problem with flopping of the cosmos at all. Golden finches would bend them down in the late summer, eating the seed, and that was entirely welcome. :-)

Well, THAT'S encouraging! You wouldn't happen to have pictures of your well-behaved cosmos, would you? I could really take hope from that. ; )

Do you ever cut your cosmos back? I wondered when these started getting extremely tall whether I should have pinched them back like I do chrysanthemums. Would that make them bushier and sturdier or just cut back on flower production?

How's this?

{{gwi:424564}}

They just started blooming this week but none showing today.

It's too windy here, and we had heavy rain storms (remember, back when it used to rain?) and the tall ones didn't stand up to it. The dwarf ones do well for me. I'll be sticking to those.

Karen

I have to say the verdict is still out for me on Nicotiana. This is my first year having them and I was really impressed with the growth of the leaves, but then it started blooming this week, and I thought, "THIS is what I've been waiting for??" The plant has a single stem that is about three feet high and shoots off little flowers. The whole plant is almost five feet tall(which I didn't think it was going to get that tall). And it's supposed to have a scent...I can't smell it. I'm going to snip the middle stems and see if they at least bush out more.

On Cosmos...I think it looks best where it can sprawl around another plant. I always enjoy seeing where it reseeds in my yard and its usually back of the border, where the flower stems will dangle over the shoulder of another plant. I like that :-)

Lime,
Don't be surprised if your Bishop's Children Dahlias reseed. My Uwins dwarfs have reseeded two years in a row. And I got some nice new colors of them from all the pollinators visiting them.

Fairydancer,
I cut back my Maltese Cross when it was done blooming and it is blooming again. Maybe cutting yours back after it blooms would make it perform better for you.

BusyLizzie,
I don't like Cactus-flowered Zinnias either. To me, the petals look kinda ratty.

And I thought last year that I didn't like Clarkia, and I didn't WS any this year. Well I had a reseeder from last year that was so beautiful (and the blooms lasted longer where it reseeded, in part shade).

Linda

I was very disappointed with my Balsaminas this year also and my Love in a Mist was shorter than usual for some reason, although I loved the fact that they reseeded.

What I LOVED was my reseeded cleomes. I didn't sow any and all I had to do was replant the seedlings where I wanted them and had tons of cleomes throughout my gardens. I love those kinds of surprises every spring.

Carrie

Linda, Thanks for the heads up on the dahlias. I'll be looking for seedlings (although I am also harvesting pods, so maybe not so many?)

Carrie, I am definitely counting on reseeders!!!

Lime

I didn't care too much for the Cerinthe either....not very showy at all. Edges were crisping out on me too; very ugly, but I let them go long enough to get seeds.
Vinidium (African Daisy) 'Jaffa Ice'....don't get me wrong; the flowers are gorgeous, but the plants themselves took up way too much room at 3' tall and almost as wide! Also I've noticed the white ones are not as prolific blooming as the orange.

Drippy....Only planted out one Cactus Zinnia and pretty glad one was all I had! Not a very flattering plant.

Lime....Profusion Cherry color for me lasts a LONG time and eventually petals turns buff beige with a dark brown eye; I rather like it once it turns too! Wish I still had pictures.

Fairydancer....I cut my Maltese Cross back too..hard and they've been re-blooming for awhile now.

gardenluv and stage_rat....My wintersown Nigella 4 years ago were just like that; maybe just a little taller at 6". I don't think they transplant well, but all the self-sown ones every year since have been MUCH better! If you haven't yanked them, let them self-sow or sprinkle the seed where you want them. Sometimes they come up in fall and winter over.

1black61...Don't know which Nicotiana you grew, but I've had my Nicotiana alata (white) get 5' tall but they were not just single stemmed; VERY fragrant evening and cloudy day bloomers. Bad quality camera phone picture, but these Clearwing Hummingbird Moths came by the droves to drink from these! Normally they are only growing to about 3'. Mine have been blooming for about a month.
{{gwi:1873}}

I wasn't too crazy about poached egg plant (limnanthes douglasii). The flowers were cute, but by the time they bloomed, the foliage was brown and dry. I tranplanted them from the pot they were in, but they ended up dying not long after. Perhaps the weather was too warm for their liking or I made some other error. I have another pack since at the time they were on sale for .09 each, so maybe I'll try direct sowing in spring with those.

I am thinking that I like the cleomes better than phlox. They are just as tall, but they don't get the mildew that phlox can get and the flowers come sooner, last longer and reseed better - Actually, to me, they have the same "look"...

Carrie

It's not that I didn't like it, but I was underwhelmed by my Heliopsis Loraine Sunshine (please ignore the spent pink morning glories draped lazily about):

{{gwi:424565}}

I was excited when I saw variegated leaves in the wintersown container, but there's no comparison between the picture that I had seen online before when researching the plant found on a trade list (see link below) and my result (pic above). I have no doubt these plants do beautifully elsewhere, but they didn't live up to my inflated hopes this year. ;-) If I get seed, I will try again, though. What's the harm?

Terri

Here is a link that might be useful: Window shopping ;-)

i'm with mo girl, the poached egg plant was a bust. and it looked so promising. the kingfisher daisy was a disapointment too, the flower was very small, and didn't last long. the rest of my plants did just fine. even had some surprises.
jennie

I didn't care for nicandra. It was ok at first but became leggy and cutting it back didn't help. Now I'm afraid it's going to be coming up all over the place because I didn't remove all the seed pods. My cerinthe is gorgeous, both the major and kiwi. It did get much bigger then I anticipated so I just cut it back. That has kept it from looking leggy and there's no nasty old foliage. I'll definitely plant it again next season but will give it more space.
Karyn