Congrats on your babies!! I have some babies too. Marigolds, Poppies, Cornflowers, Shasta Daisies, Geraniums and Salvia. We had snow this morning so I hope they are ok. I am still sowing things here. I put out some petunias yesterday and I have some gomphrena and zinnias left to do. I hope to get them done in the next few days. I depend on the winter sown flowers. I am only in my third year trying the sowing but it certainly shows how tough little seedling can be. I am always thankful to see the sprouts. Our hard work has paid off even if it is only a few yet. We we will get more. I will do my veggies when it gets closer to the last frost day.

I w/s four things. The echinacea (coneflowers) and Digitalis (Foxgloves) are up. Nothing in the Hollyhocks or Aquilegia (Columbine).

Don't give up. I have some more things coming very slowly. I hope they all start showing some activity now in April. We have been having some warm weather this week and last so I am sure that has helped. I won't give up any chance of germination until June. It makes me so happy when I see the little green sprouts in the containers.

I have Monarda citriodora, Coreopsis tinctoria, hollyhock, evening primrose, anise hyssop, and catnip.

So glad this forum is picking up again! I’ve got quite a few babies. We’ve had a significant warm spell and I have a lot sprouting right now. Will give some specifics later. I will say I have tried Japanese anemones for several years now and I have never gotten one single sprout from any of my seeds. I don’t know why I keep trying, and I don’t know why my seeds won’t sprout.

I noticed yesterday that three Purple Milkweed sprouted! I am very excited about that as I've always wanted that plant! I've never tried anemones. Maybe it's one of plants that the seed has to be extremely fresh? I dunno. Years ago I rcvd a lavender poppy seed and only one sprouted. It was so beautiful! Only one I was ever successful with.

gawdinfever, it's so strange how experiences are different. My poppies are always part of the "guaranteed results" jugs. They've all sprouted now and are growing well. Mine will reseed, but reseeding always declines so I have to rejuvenate periodically by WS. I've WS Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate in the past and had no sprouts. This week I saw two KMOGG sprouts! I hope the anemones follow suit.

@diggerdee zone 6 CT - I have never tried to winter sow impatiens. Do they come up nice and hardy? My mother and I need to have shade plants n the front of our houses. I can buy them easily at HD so I never bought seed for them. Next year I will try them if you say you have luck with them. I am getting more things sprouting too. The coleus I sowed has not done anything yet. I was hoping they would be up by now because I was relying on them for the front of my house. I have to have faith they will come up soon.

I have not sown any veggies except peppers and tomatoes. The tomatoes that have sprouted are very tiny and do not even have their true leaves yet. The peppers have not sprouted yet. It has been too cold this week for the soil to warm.

I was going to wait on the cucumbers, zucchini and the little pumpkins until the end of next week or even the week after that. Does that sound too late? Should I do them asap? Last year I direct sowed the cukes, squash and pumpkins and they were a bit slow to start. The soil needs to be warm and we always seem to get cold and wet weather at the end of May. Last year I was mad at myself for not having plants to put in so this year I will start them. I have learned so much here about the method and getting the hang of the type of plants that will sow for me. I do not know if I should put more seeds in the containers. I have tried to keep it easy when and if they grow to separate so I have been spreading seeds lightly and using more jugs. The first year I bought many things for looks that were not hardy and wasted my money. doh!! I have since learned more about the flowers to stay away from no matter how much I would like them. There are plenty hardy annuals and tender perennials to try that will survive and flourish.

I have a few geraniums that I started in the house under the shop lights in the utility room and they are very slowly growing. I do not have any warmer pad or grow lights so the winter sowing is the best way for me to try to get the flowers I want. Geraniums are one of the hardiest flowers here in Chicago for me and they don't winter sow well is what I have been told. I did sow some and have a few tiny sprouts but I can see that they may never grow to their full potential. I think they need to be started in February for an end of May or first week of June planting.

I didn't winter sow in the classic sense but sowed in large containers that remain out on the balcony. The sweet peas were a no show. Poppies sprouted and got killed by later bout of freezing temps. A couple of columbines have just sprouted.

@getgoing. You still have time to sow more seeds. Try again now. We have time until we get nice warm weather. Maybe if you try to cover the planters with clear plastic until germination you will have better luck. Don’t give up! Plants are so strong and you may have luck this time.

Patti, I have enough Columbines sprouting I think. I also had some poppies sprout indoors that I have planted out now. The nemesia sprouted indoors and died after a bit probably due to neglect in a sunny window. The thing with cool weather annuals like sweet peas, nemesia et al. is that the window for those to flower satisfactorily before heat kills them is really small - 2/3 weeks at best. It would be a lot of effort for not many flowers if any at this point. I had started snapdragons, stocks and penstemon last fall and they are coming along decently. The stocks bloomed through the winter in fact and have been pruned to hopefully send out a bigger better flush of blooms. The problem I face with proper wintersowing is that my outdoor space gets no sun throughout winter. Hence the open sowing.

Patti I WSed impatiens years ago and can't quite remember how they did. I'm guessing they did okay because I usually remember the ones I DON'T have good luck with lol.

This year I'm doing the impatiens for a specific reason. Normally I have always just bought impatiens. I used to use a ton of them. I love them (the white ones) for edging my beds in the shade (I have a lot of shade) and I used to take care of several gardens, many with shade beds, and used them there. But then that mildew problem hit, and it just wasn't worth it to buy them.

Now we come to this season, and one of my garden customers is having her son's wedding in her back yard! So I'd like to again edge the beds with white impatiens. I found a variety that is supposed to be mildew resistant. So I figured it would be worth the twenty bucks of seed to try growing them myself. I think they will do well in general. My concern is that they won't be big enough by the wedding in late June. We'll see I guess!

:)

Dee