first of all .. you surely have enough to try a number of methods ... so.. experiment ...

i suggest you try some in fall.. directly in the ground ... just a line of them ...

you should also ask in the winter sowing forum .... try some that way ...

and save some for spring ...

back in the day.. we didnt have the WWW .. and we just winged it ... and the thing is.. i remember all those experiments .. more than things i read on a gizmo ...

boy did you go big on volume ... lol.. probably the first lesson you will never forget .. lol ...

gardening is a method to reduce stress ... soooo ... dont stress ..

ken

I started growing from seed in 2005 when I stumbled upon the Winter Sowing forum here on GW. I traded seeds with others on GW & winter sowed 500+ recycled gallon milk jugs and proceeded to fill (to overflowing) all my garden beds with seed-grown perennials. I'm in a warmer zone than you (Z6a Southern New England) but most things I winter sowed that first year are thriving--and blooming--this year.

No question is silly. We're gardeners so we have many questions. Feel free to ask; we've all likely asked the same questions over the years. If you don't ask, how will you learn?

I believe the seeds need stratification (a cold spell of several weeks). So direct sowing and winter sowing are usually the best. For the ones you save for spring you might want to stick in the fridge or freezer for 4-6 weeks. Can't wait to see your pictures in a couple years when you've got blooms! My winter sowing doesn't have the best results so I'm still learning, but this year I had several coneflowers germinate and grow that way. Good luck! Heidi

While climate warming has allowed some zone 5 plants to survive here in the Twin Cities area I believe we are still listed as zone 4.

Echinacea and rudbeckia both self seed in my beds so you may have some success sowing seed this fall. With so much seed I would do as Ken suggested and try several different sowing techniques. My bee balm spreads quickly though mostly from roots. It is a good seed to winter sow. Winter sowing has been the easiest way for me to add perennials. Like gardenweed I sowed hundreds of containers to fill my beds quickly. Echinacea does need cold stratification. I winter sowed seeds in Jan/Feb. with good germination in the spring.

Wow! Thank you everyone for all of your great replies. I had never even heard of winter sowing, I looked up a step by step guide to it (http://www.bachmans.com/files/GardenGuide/WinterSowingGuide.pdf). You are right, Ken Adrian, I have a lot of seeds to experiment with, I think I will try a bit of everything this year. I am excited! At least some should germinate right :)?