Well, you've aleady done better than me. My seed never emerged!

But definitely don't bring them inside. Remember they are alpine in nature, and don't like all that warmth without cold nights and adequate light. I would think the cold frame would be fine as long as it doesn't heat up too much in sunny weather.

But then, I have never grown Soldanella, now, have I? (He says with undertones of envy.)

lol! Thanks! I'll get them back outside tomorrow. They just seem so tiny and fragile but you're right, they are alpine plants. They had been outside up until last week, even looking OK with temps of 15 degrees for a few nights. I got scared and brought them in. Should I just leave them in their seed pot all winter, then? I sure don't want to lose them!

You may want to ease them outside again. A week inside could have spurred some tender growth already. You be the judge.

I would think it is certainly too late to do any repotting. It's too cold for them to adjust. But you do want to try to moderate the temperature of the pot, just like it would be if it were actually planted out. No fertilizer now. I suppose the best thing would be to sink the pot in the soil in the cold frame, with a light airy mulch over it. The cold frame would keep the winter precipitation off, generally a good thing for alpines as they hate winter wet. But I would also keep the frame propped open so it doesn't heat up during the day. And since NO natural rainfall or snow gets in, you may need to add just a little during a winter thaw. Be careful, because frozen soil can look just like soil that is bone dry. Can be a tricky thing.

So nice hearing from you again, Vegangirl. I miss our post exchanges of yesteryear.

Rick

Rick,

Thanks for good, detailed advice. That's what I'll do.

Well, we'll just have to have more post exchanges since I've missed them too:-) I'd love to hear all about what you've grown this summer.
VG

Hi,

Its nice to see someone else having some soldonella to overwinter. I received some seed in a trade last winter...winter sowed them, and have some 'babies' to take care of this winter.

They are currently in my newly made sand plunge bed and look very happy....and they too have taken the cold and snow with no problem. The plunge bed will be exposed to the elements...not too worried because we usually get decent snow coverage through winter.

I am very curious to see how things survive and/or germinate with the new bed.

Looking forward to keeping in touch to see how everyones' plants fare this winter.

m

Mine seem to be doing ok in spite of low temps of 17 and no snow cover. I have them in the edge of the cold frame where the rain, etc doesn't hit them and I check them for moisture every week. It was 5 degrees Sunday morning and I haven't checked them since then but will today.

Mitch, hope your babies (and mine!) survive and do well!