So, you have the bulbs/corms, not their seeds?

I think you should be about equivalent to my USDA Z8 there, the bulbs will probably not be winter hardy for you (too wet and too cold). You could plant them in early Spring, but in late Fall when they begin to go dormant, they would need to be lifted and stored someplace inside dry and cool. You could either dig the corms and store those, or move the pots themselves inside.

They are going to want some sun. Is your north facing patio fully shaded? If it's shaded in the morning that would work OK, but they will want some afternoon brightness to bloom well.

Western Washington and the Pacific Northwest are quite similar to southern England in climate, so you can check out what those people are WSing. My husband's from West Sussex and he says it feels just like home here. I'm new to WSing myself, so I'm afraid I'm not much use on the advice. :)

Thanks for your help, to know which of your zones match mine is very useful indeed. Morz8, yes its their bulbs that I have and my patio gets full( summer) sun all afternoon and evening. What do you think will be best, grown in pots( could then be moved into and out of the sun) or in the ground ,thanks again

upsydaisy - the whole winter sowing concept is rather alien to us here in the UK. I have spent years on these forums and have never really understood how it could be adapted to our climate. Essentially we often 'winter sow' as a matter of course without giving it a special name. We are able to sow many hardy plants in the Autumn and they will overwinter in the ground, a cold frame or a sheltered spot. We are also able to start sowing some things early in the year at a time which many US gardeners would consider to be still winter.

Regarding your Freesias - since they are corms and not seeds you would be planting them rather than sowing. You can't 'winter sow' them - they would rot and die if you planted them outside in the winter. Nor will they overwinter in the ground or in pots outside for you. I suggest you find a UK source for advice as much of the information on GW, even from the PNW, doesn't really suit our conditions. I love these forums precisely because so many of the experiences and techniques are different from those we are used to here. No US zone really matches our climate. Although our winter temperatures make us 8 or 9- ish our summer temperatures come no where near US 8 or 9.

Here is a link that might be useful: One of many sources of info on growing Fressias in the UK

Thanks floral for the very informative link. Yes I do understand that we do things a bit different due to our climate, what I am hoping to gain from my attempts at wsing is not having the ' chore' of hardening off- I had so many trays and pots to move back and forth before and after work last year ! I am also on another (UK) forum but have so far had no luck at gaining any advise. Thank you once again for your help

Floral, not quite true, when I said equivalent to my USDA Z8 I really did mean mine specifically. We don't have summer heat but rather many days in the 65-70F range which are considered quite nice days. Of course there are exceptions but not many in number for us here on the coast. Our difference might be that we are often dry and cool in late summer into early fall rather than damp and cool. We will still have our fair share of overcast days.

OT, but I've been 'winter sowing' since long before I had a computer or knew what a forum was. I read about the process of placing pots outdoors, topped with a little grit but exposed to winter rains in an old English gardening magazine and thought that would meet my needs. It does. Anything needing a moist chill to break seed dormancy goes outdoors exposed to rains, sometimes frosts and occasionally even snow - but we've had no snow this year.

I think the differences in the concept are few, mainly using recycled containers (mostly from food) and covering them for those in harsher climates, and most here are in harsher climates than my own. I don't have to concern myself with seed pots drying out, I've never had anything dry out outdoors here in winter in my lifetime ;)

" what I am hoping to gain from my attempts at wsing is not having the ' chore' of hardening off-". Upsydaisy - Freesias just won't survive an English winter outdoors so there is no choice but to start them in warmer place and harden them off in due course. Or even just keep them inside permanently in a conservatory or greenhouse where the flowers won't be damaged by the weather.

Morz8 - your climate certainly does sound similar to ours. Your description of sowing hardy plants outdoors is, as you say, a standard technique here so hasn't been given a special name i.e. Winter Sowing. And of course you're right, it works splendidly for anything requiring a moist chill period. The FAQs give a good idea of the kinds of plants it will work for. That is why I am often curious when people say they 'winter sow' thing like tomatoes or peppers. What are they really doing? Just to find out what would happen I Winter sowed some tomato seed one year. As expected it all just rotted away in the cold damp mix. The temperature needed for germinating tomato seed outdoors wouldn't be reached until some time in July anyway, so it just wouldn't work here even if the seed survived the Winter.

Floral, winter sowing tomatoes, most vegetables, annuals isn't ideal here either. If I hope to have a ripe tomato before Fall weather, the plants need more of a head start than that. I need robust young plants waiting to go at our last possible frost date, and yes, they do need to be hardened off.

We don't have enough spring or summer heat to produce a crop otherwise. So with my own sowing, I stick with those things that need the fluctuating temps to break dormancy in the tree, perennial, shrub range - while understanding sowing other seeds does work for those with winters more dry and cold, summers hot. It's raining and 49F here this morning, and could well be raining and 49F into April ;)

I'm actually on the border of 8b and my freesias over winter if planted high and well drained. We only have one or two days below freezing here....so that may be the difference.