Don't know about the asters (so many different types)... but i bet that the candytuft will be fine - mine are still blooming and it's almost January!! Still, though, if we can temps like in the 20s or so - I would still cover them - they are a bit early for what is ahead. (PS My candytuft is in the garden as a result of many reseeds).

Carrie

LOL Carrie...my Candytuft is still green and I am wondering if it is going to make it the rest of the winter!It has been buried in snow a few times and we have had some cold weather,they are still green and I swear they are budding up! They are very good at reseeding themselves, as a matter of fact the ones that are out there now are babies from the ones I thought I pulled out before they went to seed,Candytuft never surprises me!:)

What do you do when this happens? They are blooming and you cant even enjoy them? Will they still be blooming strong into the spring and summer? This confuses me. I'm new at this winter-sowing, so I'm a lil dopey just yet, and need all the teaching I can get, lol.
Daniella

Some kinds of candytuft are hardy perennials and some are annuals.

Perennial
http://www.entomology.cornell.edu/Extension/Woodys/CUGroundCoverSite/Iberis%20saxatilis.html

Annual
http://www.wildflowermix.com/info/180+common/candytuft.html

The perennial is fairly low growing and white, the annual is often taller and more colorful.

GGG

Get outta here! I'm jealous whhhaaaaa!!! I have a good, solid 4 months left to go!

I love the candytuft, both perennial and the annual. When do you get to start planting in your zone?

daniell - Actually, chances are that while you may get early germination, you probably won't get any blooms for a while - remember, the candytuft we are talking about has been blooming all summer - the new germinations are just little seedlings and need heat to really get going... Personally, I don't like to start sowing until closer to February for perennials (we are cold enough then), and March for the annuals and other tenders.

So to answer your question - no, there are really no blooms over the winter but the real enjoyment with wintersowing is actually seeing germination and the fact that we all have learned to grow from seed - which is amazing in itself.

Hope that helps

Carrie

The candytuft I am sowing is Snowflake, an evergreen variety. The aster is a dwarf variety called Milady.

I started winter sowing December 24th last year. According to my notes I was planting out bachelor buttons, larkspur and both annual and perennial poppies by the end of February.

I did lose alyssum sown in January and Nasturtiums planted in mid March to freezes.

The majority of my 30 jugs are things I know can germinate any time but still handle some freezes that I am sure are headed our way. Snaps, dianthus, poppies, and delphiniums to list a few.

Using some common sense one can winter sow in my area starting now through March. Of course there is always that testing those waters that makes life fun. I held back seeds from the few things I was not sure how they would handle possible early germination with dips below 32 degrees later.

The asters and candytuft will be those living life on the edge experiments ;)~

The only thing I recall ever losing has been annual poppies because I planted them out too early. I'm sure your sprouts will do fine provided you leave them in their containers long enough. If you become really concerned, you can always tuck them in the garage or someplace overnight if you get a really cold snap just as a preventative measure. I ordered a pack of the perennial lavender-pink blooming ones this year which I'm looking forward to growing. I'm going to keep a watch over them to see if they are early sprouters for me. The white ones have been in my yard for years. Such a tidy little plant and it blooms in the shade so it brightens up my bed. It looks nice year round, you'll love it. Keep us posted on how they do!

WOW! The earliest I've ever had were in February, but like 2 mos. after sowing them LOL! Those were Delphinium and Hollyhock and they did find planted out in March and fared just fine to the following cold and snow that came a few weeks later. I have lost some tender annuals that came too early while still in their containers though in April....it wasn't the frost that got them just too cold (20's) and those were: Tithonia, Cypress Vine, Zinnia, Tomato and Cosmic Orange Cosmos. Tithonia and Cactus Zinnia were the only ones I had to re-seed because all of them came up at once! Actually ALOT start coming up in March and April for me...perennials and hardy annuals I don't sweat because they normally kick *ss :D

Vera