So far I have thyme, delphiniums, poppies and verbena bonsariensis on the go in south windows.
I am doing perennials as a winter sow.
Starting the lights up to do begonias, geraniums and petunias.
All of a sudden there seems to be much to do!

Caroline zone 3 Calgary

Hi girls. I haven't started anything yet, but I'm going out to buy some lights, etc., today.

Would you recommend starting in sterlized organic seedling starter mix, all purpose organic sterlized potting soil, vermiculite, or perlite?

I've never done this before, but I'm really looking forward to trying. After that I can contribute to your post properly =:)

I generally use regular potting soil (sifted) mixed heavily with fine vermiculite and have had great results. The seedlings come out of the soil very easily when its time to pot them up. I like to put a thin layer of fine vermiculite on top of everything except for those seeds which requires light to germinate. I'm not fond of the seedling starter mix because its so full of peat and I always seem to over water it then it gets a crust, etc.

Caroline, have you grown Verbena bonariensis before? And has it germinated and is growing already?

I've done several kinds of petunias and some impatiens. Most have popped up already. :) I also have 10 winter-sown containers outside, and that's about it for perennials. Most of those were from the box of seeds - just things to try for the heck of it.

I usually start all my seeds in fine vermiculite and so far all my wave and tidal wave petunias are up so I transplanted from 9 cell packs to 6 cell packs last nite. I also started Foxy Foxgloves and I transplanted 36 into 6 cell packs as well. I'm still waiting for my Datura seeds to germinated but it's only been 2 weeks for them and they usualy take 3-4 weeks. This year I bought another heated seed starting kit that comes with the 72 peat pellets and I planted two Datura seeds in each peat pellet. I cheque them daily and last nite when I took the cover off there was quite a smell. I also have a margarine container lined with a coffee filter with another 50 Datura seeds in it that I set on top of a fluorescent lite for warmth but nothing has sprouted yet. It's strange for me with Datura seeds because one year I'll have a lot germinate and other years hardly anything. The seed I have is fresh from my sister in law so it is not old. I think I'll back up my current efforts by planting another 60 seeds in Vermiculite in another heated seed starting kit. Stan

The verbena bonsariensis was seeded into indoor pots before Xmas and took about 6 weeks this year to sprout. Last year it took 3 months. ? The seeds were from a different supplier so I do not know why they sprouted easier this year.
I have done it as a winter sow before, but the plants flowered late.

That's interesting, Stan, that you use straight vermiculite - I will have to give that a try with some seed.

Caroline, if you grow Verbena bonariensis again, you can greatly reduce your germination time if you try to mimic spring conditions. I generally will put the container of sown seeds on the cold basement floor for 12-24 hours, then somewhere warm for 12-24 hours and keep alternating that. Germination will occur in about a week.

I see some germination on the begonias but oh my, they are sooo tiny. I think I'll have to look with a magnifying glass to make sure that's what I'm really seeing. Or else get DH to practice his macro photography, lol.

Hi Everyone!
Time to get finally get growing!! YEAH! Need to get rid of those longggggg winter Blues! Started lots of petunias from last years collected seed and some snapdragons. So ok I am official off and running. HUM??? Where do I start??? So much fun to have!

Question! Should I start my coneflowers in the house or winter sow? I used to get sooooooo carried away with indoor planting I run out of room. I am just starting to experiment with winter sowing.. Will I have good success with winter sowing cone flower?
Thanks for the help! Happy Growing Everyone!
Theresa

My wave petunias are up, and I wintersowed 20 jugs on Sunday. I have another week or two before I start my regular petunias, snaps, and pansies.

Connie