Winter sowing is a technique/strategy that allows vegetables/annuals/perennials/shrubs/trees to grow naturally as they would if the seeds fell from the plants onto the soil. There's little need for humans to "take control," "micromanage" or try to direct the plants--they know what to do and when if you simply allow them to do what they'd do if humans weren't part of the equation.

Take a chill pill, relax and don't sweat when things do what they do on their own. Gardeners don't tell plants what to do and when. Plants do what they do when they know (based on their genetic code) what to do.

I've never traded stocks but am guessing it's a high-pressure business. Gardening isn't a business; it's life.

Windows don't close in gardening. Windows open when wintersown plants sprout, grow and bloom. I've grown an alphabetical list of perennials along with apple, pear and dogwood trees from seeds via winter sowing.

Gardening isn't an exact science so if you're expecting folks to weigh in on exact science, you'll be disappointed.

You can't "micromanage" nature. Things will grow, bloom & produce at their own pace. If you expect to speed the cycle up to meet your expectations you'll need to intervene or else introduce artificial methods of production.

Normally, plants cannot be controlled or ordered or coerced into performing as humans demand they do. Plants have populated the planet for several millenniums without humans directing them.

You won't appreciate the information I've imparted above because you don't really want to garden. You want to control. At some point you'll stumble across the knowledge that you never will.

"You won't appreciate the information I've imparted above because you don't really want to garden. You want to control. At some point you'll stumble across the knowledge that you never will.'"

Odd response to make to someone looking for help in gardening..

Winter sowing harnesses natural forces but it is not natural. It is a greenhouse. And there are windows in gardening. They're called seasons. Germination and growth are triggered by temperature and daylight, among other things. it is a waste of space and resources to ignore this.

Hunting and gathering is natural. Gardening is agriculture, which is science, and art.

That said, I do appreciate what I think you're trying to tell me, which is that winter sowing relies less on intervention than indoor sowing. I get it. Thanks.

At least for me in Z4 if I want earlier annuals I need to start them inside under lights. The same for vegetables. Winter sowing here may help with earlier germination than direct sowing but not enough for significantly earlier blooming and I recall that some in even higher zones buy some starter annual plants for early bloom.

Perennials generally need a year of growth before good bloom so there is little need to have them started earlier inside. There are a few exceptions of first year blooming perennials. IME, winter sowing is the easiest method of starting perennials and I have sown hundreds of kinds of perennials this way.

Most perennials I winter sow during the mid to late winter months. As noted above, some need a warm, cold, warm cycle so the same technique is used to sow those during the summer or fall.

In early spring I have sown seeds in cells and put them outside rather direct sowing, zinnias are an example. The cells need extra attention to watering but I like having starter plants to put in the garden.

Putting inside cells outside during warm days: you could do this if the seedlings haven't germinated but once seedlings are up putting them outside in the sun could fry them and putting them in the shade defeats the purpose.

I think that the best advice is to experiment, try some earlier sowing and some later sowing and see what works for you and your zone. For me, part of the fun of gardening is experimenting. Expect some failures as learning experiences not as tragedies.

My successes this year that I would repeat are trailing lobelia (annual), cleome, and poppies (transplanting worked!). I got a headstart with marigolds, but it's probably better to buy a flat as soon as they become available and let the self-seeded ones catch up and flll out gaps six weeks later. That way I'l have some color early and still have the riotous display at the end. My love-lies-bleeding is still miniscule so that is a disappointment. My dwarf goatsbeard is still dwarf! The vegetables I won't judge because I planted them out too early..

Good idea with marigolds. I ws impatients one year and had freshly blooming plants later in the summer when the store bought ones were looking tired. Dwarf goats beard is a perennial for me and took a few years to mature and fill out well.

Hope the llb grows well and blooms for you. Many complain they can't get llb to germinate so you are ahead of the game.

I ws poppies one year then when they went to seed spread the seed around and have had poppies ever since. Worked best when the seed was scattered at the time it was set. I never had much success scattering seed later in the fall.

I did not wintersow my poppies; I started them in cell pods. I think I may have sowed them too early because they are blooming now. If I had wintersowed them they would probably have bloomed later. As it i, they are looking are little lonely.