However, they have made very little progress in the past month since went out.

==>>> '

well they are not warm and toasty like they were in your incubator... there should not be anything surprising with them going into slo motion once you released them into the wild ... never forget.. regardless of day AIR temps ... its more a function of night SOIL temps ... that is what slows them down ...

its a real crap shoot as to when they go out .. with the vagaries of ma nature ... get this.. shes a witch .. lol... if you stay with it.. in say.. about 20 years.. you ought to be able to do it with absolute certainty .. lol ...

its all so dependent on your exact location.. soil.. etc.. that we simply cant give you specific .. spot on.. answers ...

if you could post some pix .. perhaps we could opine on what they look like.. but on words alone.. i cant ...

ken

Depends on weather and other variables. The last frost date should give you a target to shoot for, I use it to plan timetable for sowing seeds indoors. I have learned the hard way, though, that all it tells you is the average last frost date. Doesn't tell you anything about how cold your soil, how much rain is predicted in the week or two after your planned planting, etc. I've planted impatiens one too many years when it rained almost constantly right after planting and they rotted out -- stuff like that. I've also learned that it's dependent on exactly what you're planting. Here again -- learned the hard way that the melons and squash are going to sit there and do nothing, or worse -- rot out, unless the soil is warm no matter the ambient temp. So now I don't plant those until Memorial weekend or even 1st week of June, even though last frost date for me is mid-May, but the peas can go out now, they thrive in cooler weather and soil temps. Planting in containers is another variable. IME, those plantings can be done earlier because the soil gets warmer quicker in the pots, and, in my case anyway, the pots are placed close to the house so more protection from harsh weather/frost and hanging baskets are protected from frost from house eaves or tree canopy.

Bottom line --> be patient and don't push it. A lot of this comes from experience, but a good dose of common sense goes a long way to avoid disappointment.

Thanks. The struggle is between the need to protect the seedlings and get them growing faster on the one hand, and acclimating them early, not coddling them and giving them natural light and air on the other hand. The parts of my balcony that get part sun at this time of the year are exactly the parts that are most windy and cooler. :) I am getting around to the point where I would likely err on the side of keeping them safe and warm. The petunias and torenia that I kept indoors have mad much more progress and are all budding up at about 11 weeks from sowing, while the nemesias kept outdoors show nary a bud.

11 weeks ahead of planting out is too early for petunias. What you don't want is to sow too soon and have to keep the plants indoors, they tend to get leggy and just not grow as well as they would if they were outside. It is perfectly fine to plant out smaller, non-blooming plants -- in fact, it's preferable.

yes, but I want flowering season to start early and last as long as possible. Isn't that the whole point. :)

Well, if you plant too early you run the risk of poor results or losing them entirely, that was the point of my above posts. .

Point taken. Being greedy would likely backfire.

Ken, you are right about sticking with it for 20 years to figure it out. This is my fourth season trying to get indoor windows to outdoors balcony move right! Anyhow, I have resorted to bringing them in for the night (more coddling) and keep an eye out for windy days for more coddling so I can coax them to start blooming faster. In my mind it should take no more than 10-12 weeks for annuals to bloom from date of sowing....I will post some pics later.

Here are some more pics - the largest ones are in pots hanging from the railing. The less protected and battered ones in trays. I know the larger ones look like they will bloom soon.. I have finally given in and given all stakes to the schizanthus after winds kept battering them into acting like trailers.
All these are from seeds sown 11 weeks back.

This is north/northwest facing open balcony on the top (4th) floor at the north east corner of the building. It is beginning to get sun closer to the railings as the sun gets higher and moves further west but northwestern winds are a menace.