Milkweed. Lots and lots of milkweed for the monarch butterflies. How to make a One Gallon Greenhouse

Cutleaf coneflower, hollow stem joe pye weed, Maximilian sunflower, NY iron weed, tall Larkspur, purple giant hyssop, and wild senna.

Anise hyssop, wild bergamot, purple poppy mellow, and some kind of milkweed for the front beds.

I don't know how long it will take these plants to mature and start to flower, but I think wintersowing will be the easiest way to cold stratify them and protect the seedlings.

I've never been able to get anise hyssop to germinate. What's the secret?

Uh oh, I've never tried either, hopefully it isn't too hard. According to the seed packet they need light to germinate and should be surface sown with no soil cover, and they need 30 days of cold moist stratification.

The package directions are correct. I had anise hyssop in a seed mix. I got a few big blooms in the first year. I favor the plant so I grabbed the seed heads and scattered them around the planter last fall. In the summer I have gotten many more. Full sun and surface sow seeds. Medium to wet to get them going.

Brad, that's a beautiful shot. Wish me luck in growing agastache this year. lol

Milkweed, monkshood, cathedral bells, hardy hibiscus, hollyhocks, multiple coneflowers, lupine, blue-eyed daisy, pheasants eye, poppies, Joe Pyle weed, monarda, Canterbury bells. I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

Except for poppies, I'll also sow some back-ups under lights. I'll do my datura and tomatoes inside as well.

Well my plant world seeds came yesterday. If it stops raining, I'll start (or even finish) planting these in my milk jugs later today. I felt silly ordering american natives (of which a couple are) from England, but I don't see them for sale here. Mostly whimsical.

impatiens
glandulifera,impatiens namchabarwensis blue diamond,adenophora bulleyana,corydalis heterocarpa,corydalis malkensis,dicentra eximia,erodium manescavii,heuchera 'metallica'(americana),lathyrus vernus,linaria purpurea,senecio polyodon,allium flavum

I'm planting things with a big emphasis on hummingbirds and pollinators. Also several packs of Magic Carpet Thyme to fill in many many many many areas of a new stone installation. And some lettuces,tomatoes, and herbs. As if I actually have a chance at caring about a vegetable garden. For some reason, it's what I "should" be doing, but is always bottom on the motivation ladder. But, I keep realizing I "should" give it more time. All my fantasies of being a gentlewomanly farmer, down the drain...

deanna, you're too funny! i could never be a gentlemanly farmer either! lol. i'm also interesting in WSing plants for hummingbirds and pollinators.

there's so many wonderful suggestions here. i have to look up a bunch of these because i've never heard of them.

thanks everyone for sending your list. i hope others will post as well.

Just a FYI, Impatiens glandulifera is a nuisance alien invasive in the U.K., dbarron. I believe it is also invasive in some areas of the USA. If it isn’t a problem in your area it will need very moist conditions. It grows on damp riverbanks here.

Yes, and while last year we drowned, I'm close enough to the desert SW that I don't believe it'll be a problem...I'll more likely watch it die in the heat. But I wanted to see.

I'm early wintersowing all the ones that need stratication or alternating warm/cold stratification, ones that say to start indoors 8-12 weeks before last frost, ones I've had poor germination results for, ones that take a long time to germinate or ones that need a long growing season or haven't germinated well on the grow cart--Joe Pye, baby's breath (gypsophila paniculata), moonflower vines, balloon flowers, datura, rose campion, forget-me-nots, hollyhocks, hibiscus, lady's mantle, hyssop, ruellia, scabiosa, verbena bonariensis, wild ginger. And probably many more in March, just because the grow cart will be heavily laden with seedlings. This is my first year wintersowing, so we'll see what happens.

Nancy, good luck! Once you start, it's addictive. There are a few plants that I can never ever get to germinate including hyssop, verbascum, verbena bonariensis. I usually WS in mid-February. Don't forget to post pics!

I'm in OK and am kinda paranoid about not receiving ENOUGH moisture! And for that matter, enough freezing temps. After hours and hours and hours (and more hours) of researching, well, I've gone rogue. I admit it's brash and a bit contrary to what I've been researching. But I am bound and determined, unless one of you can dissuade me and bring me to my senses. I never have "jugs" of anything, except white vinegar. I never have take-out containers. I am far too lazy to travel around asking folks to save those for me. I landed on the idea of sturdy clear totes. Found a reasonable price on Amazon; and then I calculated which size nursery pot would best accommodate the available space in the large ones. 15. So ordered 3.5x3.5x5-inch nursery pots. Another reason for this choice was because the only place I have to put them is on the deck, and it can get pretty windy here at times. I have a grow cart that will fit 250 or so 4x4" seedling pots (I started out many more in 3 oz solo cups, but lost several.) Now one last VERY rogue thing. EVERY single winter-sowing site and reference I've tracked talks about the importance of putting the bottom drain holes in. and ones in the top for water/moisture. And yet on the grow cart, I try to water from the bottom up. And since I am so paranoid about the lack of moisture I'll be getting from Mother Nature (or conversely the glut--we flooded here last December), I realized I'd feel safer watering myself, when necessary, and then from bottom up. So my inclination and intention is NOT to put drain holes in the bottom, nor moisture holes in the top but rather lots of side ventilation holes. So that's my intent. . . . . if any of you can think of why this is not a good idea, would you please bring the reasons to me?

Tons! This will be our first full year in our house, and I have sooo much that I want to do.

Mostly perennial flowers; hardy, sun-loving flowers and nectar/pollen sources for pollinators. Swamp and tropical milkweed, echinacea, goldenrod, russian sage, asters, hyssop, ironweed, rudbeckia, joe-pye weed. Some veggies, my tried-and-true San Marzano toms and He Shi Ko perennial green onions and some new varieties, like savoy cabbage and Kyoto red carrots. Annuals will fill in the gaps, french marigolds, cosmos, snapdragons, and alyssium.

Also going to WS apple seeds - for fun and to see if they help pollinate our grafted apple trees.

Emma, what a great list! Please share pics before and after. :-)

Too much, considering how small my lot is. Most of what I'm growing will only be a couple plants worth each, plus I'm growing for my mom and my sister as well. In addition to these I will be starting tomatoes and peppers under lights, and will be direct sowing a variety of other things once it warms up (beans, summer squash, sunflowers, etc). My winter sowing jugs will be:

-dwarf ten weeks stock, annual phlox, petunias, pansies, french and signet marigolds, calendula, hyssop (white and blue), zinnias, cosmos, tall cockscomb, indian spring hollyhocks, alyssum, camelia flowered balsam, snapdragons, annual dianthus, california poppies, bunny tail grass, curly parsley, and probably a couple more I'm forgetting.

I'm also going to try sowing dahlia seeds late winter/early spring to see how they do.

I'm also hoping you all post pictures, I love seeing other peoples gardens!

Nancy,

I think your idea might work well. My biggest worry is that warm air might not escape as easily as it would with ventilation holes in the top. So, it might increase your risk of cooking sprouts as the weather warms and the sun gets stronger.

Martha

I worded my post poorly. So we have no bottom drain holes, and none on the top for rain to get in, but ventilation holes (several) on each side. I'll water from the bottom up, rather than trust we'll get any rain (lol).

I expect that will work as long as you are vigilant about watering and watching the temperatures. I have used large containers for smaller pots and covered them with large plastic bags without any holes at all. As temps warmed from freezing I would pull the plastic bag back a bit to allow ventilation and close the bag for the night's colder temps. Eventually I drilled holes in the lids and bottoms of the large containers because it was less bother.

Hahaha, mnwsgal, Hennepin, MN--just moved down to Green Country Ok from Hennepin Cty (St. Anthony)! I'd say holes in the tops and bottoms make sense for you!! One can always (alMOST always) count on SOME or many feet of snow Oct. 21-May 1 or 15. And floods the rest of the time, cept for July sometimes and August until State Fair time. Now here, although we average 45-50 inches of moisture a year. . . only God knows when we're going to get those inches--last year it was about 18-20" April 29-mid-June, roughly, another 10 or so In July, another 7-9 in August, and another 10 in December! . . . it's a crapshoot, and for maybe 3 months at a time, NO moisture. And that's what I was worried about; it's conceivable that we could have no moisture for the next 2 1/2 months. . . don't have any idea. So decided I couldn't risk moisture coming from heaven. I searched far and wide and for a long time, trying to get an answer to my question of whether I needed to have the drainage holes. My guess was not, if I controlled the moisture. I have 6 large totes on the deck, as of yesterday (90 individual pots), and we actually got an inch of snow! (GO, stratification!) You are my first ray of hope. . . and believe me, I WILL be diligent. I spent a fortune this year on gorgeous flower seeds--building a garden--veggie AND flowers from Square One. A lot to do and not much time to do it. . . in my golden years. Tending God's Garden with joy and prayers. But what happens, happens. It is joyous times, marveling. I can often GROW the seeds, but I could never invent the seeds. Tis a marvel. A Joyous Season of Love to you all.

Sounds like you are going to have fun, Nancy. Too much rain can be a problem for seeds as well which can rot before germinating. I learned to cover containers when we had too frequent rains. For me the fun was in the doing and learning from both success and failure.

To help with costs consider trading through the seed exchange forum. I traded with people all over the U.S. and Canada. It was interesting doing individual trades and being part of group trades. Many traders added surprise seeds which added to the excitement of getting a seed packet in the mail.

When I started ws years ago I was also in a hurry to get new perennial plants growing as I was starting my gardens later in life. I had always had small gardens of flowers, few perennials, and vegetables. Before we moved Eagan, (Dakota Cty) to a retirement community this fall my Maple Grove yard was full of beds containing hundreds of perennials, mostly from my winter sowing activities because it is so easy to germinate seeds. Now I am going to be limited to a square foot bed and my deck and will be deciding what to sow and plant.

Hurrah to a new adventure for us both.

Yes, MNWS gal! Hurrah indeed! I participated in a great fall swap and got some really fun things, as well as many plants and seeds last spring from a get-together. Actually this is my third year here, but the first and second, we spent most of our efforts on building beds from the ground up. Must have been hard to leave your Maple Grove yard? When we get too old to live where we do, I'll have to find some gardener to buy the yard with attached house.

DH joked that we were selling the gardens and giving away the house. The 30ish aged man who bought our place is a garden enthusiast and a wood worker so appreciated the gardens and the workshop added to the garage. He built several raised beds for his parents and is looking forward to doing his own thing. Still, I have heard new owners say they love to garden and then let the gardens go to ruin. Whatever he does I hope it will be what he want to do. I have moved several times before and have learned to let go.

You are smart to take time time to prepare your beds. I always wished I had known at the time to "lay the bones" first.

I wish you a bountiful garden in 2018.

Has anyone started WS yet? I'm going crazy with all of the seed catalogs I've received so far!

I only ordered a scant handful of seeds this year although I collected vast quantities from my own stock plants. Consequently, limited space means I only station sow seeds which are in short supply (ie. arriving in sometimes quite miserly packets...although I have binned the worst offenders over the years).

Already up (from a late summer sowing - sandleeks, various papaver including a pale pink p.dubium ssp lecoqui albiflorum, hellebore hybrids and species, wahlenbergia hederaceae, legousia pentaphylla, various umbellifers (which needed freshly sown seed) consolida ambigua, various knapweeds and cornflowers (centaurea sp) various lathyrus,

Still stratifying (in coldframe) cephalaria transylvanica, delphinium exaltum,silphium lacinatum...but since I am sitting here in the warmth while the coldframe is a chilly trip down the wet garden, I admit to simply forgetting what I have already sown...while the direct route consists of too many to account.

Ah, I also ordered impatiens seeds Dbarron - i.arguta.

Camps, I see you're starting several of my natives (delph exaltum and silphium laciniatum)...nice plants, I like both.

Has anyone wintersown verbascum?

Yes, verbascum chaixii and verbascum phoeniceum are simple from seed. Surface sown, I recall, and fairly fast at germination - they didn't require stratification. One of those plants which are less keen on transplanting so seedlings are best put in the open ground as soon as possible. I vaguely recall them being vulnerable to cold winter rains so there is no percentage in an early sowing - late March to mid April is ideal.

Campanula, just now seeing your response. Thanks for the info on verbascum. I purchased some seeds of a yellow variety whose name escapes me now. I'll probably WS them tomorrow.

I also found verbascum easy winter sowers and quick to germinate. Don’t recall problems. I grew v. ‘Milkshake’ and v. Violette, v. Nigrum and another with small yellow blooms. Tried to collect seed from v. Southern Charm but had no germination from it. Milkshake was a good self seeder and I would move the seedlings where I wanted them. Violette and Nigrum only had a few selfsown seedlings. They may be more prolific seeders but I deadheaded most old blooms.

Oh, no, I think Southern Charm was the name of the yellow one that I bought seeds of.

I expect your commercial seeds will do better than the ones I tried to collect from my garden. Hope so, it is such a lovely bloom.

Bella, you said no luck with hyssop germinating.

Luckly my Anise Hyssop has germinated with WS. Planted it mid Jan. And popped up in mid Feb. The seeds were from Prairie Moon and another pack of seeds from them Siberian Wallflower came up too. Maybe zones have the difference, I'm in Z6.

No secret to germinating anise hyssop in my z4 ws jugs. It is another self seeder after the first year of setting seed. Perhaps you got some old seed. Try a new batch.

I'll give it another try. I did purchase some new seed. Wish me luck! :-)

I just checked my WS set up, A LOT of the agastache seeds germinated. Both the anise hyssop and purple giant hyssop. The rudbeckia laciniata and helianthus maximiliani sprouted too. Gonna have to check them in a couple weeks to start thinning.

I have arugula putting out the first radicles. So...I probably just learned that in later years I should wait to plant lettuces. Stupid me, my annual Clarkia also germinated early last year and I forgot and already stuck them in a jug. If they germinate they’ll need protection when we get more hard freezes.

i've never WS clarkia. are they easy to grow?

They sure are easy to germinate. As for growing, I don’t know. We had an extensive landscaping project that was supposed to be done in April. Communication mishap so the guy didn’t finish until last week of June. I tried my best to keep all the seedlings alive in jugs, but the Clarkia germinated so early that they really wanted to be out of the jug much sooner. They didn’t do well. Trying them again this year to see how it goes. Will report back in summer!

I just started. Am sowing: delphinium, bachelor buttons, foxglove and California bluebells. Didn't WS for a couple of years, and can hardly wait to see the little seedlings emerge!

Deanne, I'll have to try growing clarkia. I've never grown it before. Sounds like they are easy to grow.

Ellen, good for you. It so much fun to see what germinates come Spring time.

Today did calendula, rudbeckia, and strawflower. I am way impatient for the last frost date in my area, April 16.

You are sooo not alone. Hard to hold back on WS.