Ditto that.

Thanks! Will work on them today.

Hey, I was just thinking about this very thing. I was sorting seed today and thought - oh look at all that seed I have that needs a winter chill! lol Aquilegia McKanna's Giants - Poppies, some natives Monarda fistulosa, Delphinium exaltatum, Pentemon cobaea, Polytaenea nuttallii [love all those double letters (g)], and Phlox pilosa

Do Stocks, Hostas, Baptisia or Nicotiana need a cold period, or can I just start those under lights?

You can winter sow Baptisia. Most grow Hosta under light but I have all kinds of seedlings that pop up in the garden. If you have enough seed try both ways.

I do like to experiment. I have plenty of hosta seed, I may need to find more containers for winter sowing. Thanks peren.all.

I won't get my Hardy Plant Soc. seed until mid February so will opt for a quickie fridge strat. - 4 weeks in vermiculite then hope for the best. Can always hang onto the containers for another year. Nicotianas come up like weed without any need for stratifying...but I am always a bit vague since many of mine are volunteers rather than deliberately sown.

I was neglectful in getting to the stratification of several things, including sea holly. But, all done now with containers set outside upon the north facing deck where they can sit for two months until the April warmth wakes those seeds up.

What's the difference between stratifying seeds in the fridge then growing under lights vs putting them outside in jugs? Other than it's less fuss to just put them outside. I have some assorted goodies in the fridge now, wonder if maybe I just fill up some vessels with potting mix and throw them outside - ?

Afaik, rosaprimula does not use lights. In fact, not many home gardeners do here. I imagine that after the fridge she sowed her seeds in her cold greenhouse. Also she's in the UK so by late January there may not be enough very low temperature days to stratify outdoors. 'Winter sowing' isn't a thing here. Many seeds are simply sown in autumn as a normal routine. It doesn't get given a particular name.

Mxk3, yes, as mentioned, it's getting a bit on in winter for outdoor stratification, though my climate "should" allow for enough chill hours, but one never knows, two years ago we had the warmest March in 80 years. Fridge stratification I also do, especially for rose seeds, works great. I have never attempted the jug method, only have set shallow pots or flats outside to bring indoors after sufficient time has passed.

My seeds have been in the fridge a few weeks now -- I wonder if I can just sow them into a growing medium and throw them outside and be done with it (namely comfrey, Asclepias incarnata, and Monarda fistulosa).

When I wintersow seeds that need stratification, I just always sow them directly from the package into the jugs and stick them outside. But I usually do those much earlier - even back in November/December (as opposed to my usual start time of late January). I would say that if your seeds have already been in the fridge for that long, they can go outside now.

What's your other option, indoor sowing with lights, etc? I don't have any indoor set-up at all - not even a good spot near a window to put them lol - so everything of mine goes outside, and if I had seeds sitting in the fridge I wouldn't have any other option really (nor would I want to fuss with one anyway) so those seeds would go out

:)

Dee

It's never too late to sow a seed. Obviously, we can faff around doing this and that, creating little mini-environments but essentially, put a seed in soil and life really wants to burst forth as a green spark.

Nothing is going to grow while still in a paper packet, that's for sure. I sow seeds when I get 'em, when I remember or have the time and inclination. at any time of the year. At the very least, when looking (guiltily) at the numerous carefully collected, cleaned and sorted seeds, still sitting in various seed boxes at the fading end of summer, I send them off into the wild by scraping some leaves or debris aside to reveal bare soil, scattering a few seeds then nudging them into close contact with the earth with a gentle poke of my boot. Setting them free.

If only my offspring displayed a similar resilient and tenacious ability to grow and thrive with nothing else required from me (instead of rummaging for the biscuit tin at the age of 45, idling on the sofa in permanent juvenile mode)...sigh.

"What's your other option, indoor sowing with lights, etc? "

Yes, I have a light set-up in the basement.

If only my offspring displayed a similar resilient and tenacious ability to grow and thrive with nothing else required from me (instead of rummaging for the biscuit tin at the age of 45, idling on the sofa in permanent juvenile mode)...sigh.

LOL!