I think part of that is how well you can keep the seedlings growing all winter. f you have the space and light it probably would not hurt to sow them now

Are you talking about sowing now outside or inside? You can sow seeds outside in the fall. If you are growing inside, I would wait until Jan. or Feb.

Debra

I'm sowing in an unheated greenhouse. If the sun is out, which it won't be much where I live for the next 6 months, it can get warm, but if it's cold out it's cold in. I've sown other things at this time and usually they sprout in late winter early spring.

I would not plant your seeds now. If they sprout now, you run the risk of the seedlings not making it through the winter.

My advice is to keep your seeds refrigerated and then sow them in January or February like Debra said. I see no benefit in planting them now. We have done so and have kept them in a heated greenhouse. When all is said and done, we couldn't tell the difference between the ones planting in August and the ones planted in January.

Nancy

Thanks to all for your advice. I've decided to go ahead and sow them now. By the time they get 2 to 3 weeks of cold stratification they need, it won't get warm enough to germinate until late winter. I may regret this, but I will learn something.

They have begun to germinate.

We could still get a bad frost and I may rue the day I sowed these, but so far so good. Even if we do the greenhouse traps enough heat to keep temps hovering at or above freezing.

Each pot has 4 seeds, so getting a pretty good germination rate and expect to see most with 4 sprouts. Now I just have to keep them alive for 3 years to see what they look like. (drums fingers on desk).

I will do this every year now and so in 3 years I'll get to see a new crop each year. I do look forward to that.

We are zone 7a. My current plan is to pot these up into a 2 inch by 5 inch pot this year, overwinter them in the greenhouse and plant them out next year. We are planning on creating a space when we can plant these out into the ground, but it won't exist until later this summer.

Do you think that timing will still allow for some blooms in 2023?

I am in 6b. Most of my flowers have not bloomed for either 3 or 4 years after sprouting. I don't have a greenhouse. But I don't think there is a guarantee of how long it could take. Patience is actually what is needed.

Juniorballon, if I were you, I would plant the seedlings in the ground if I could get them planted by August. They would have plenty of time to establish before frost. If you wait a year, it's a good chance that you will delay flowering for many of them.