Trish,
Your Canadian Zone 6 would be equal to a USDA Zone 5 from what I understand. Our zones are stuctured differently than our neighbours. Also something to consider when buying at the garden centers since most plant tags are based on the USDA ratings. (Wish I'd known that years ago!)

Three years ago, I discovered that when the folks from Massachussets start reporting sprouts, I'm about 3 weeks behind. So now I wait to see when they start, and then I know when to expect mine. This is even though we are in the same zone. Being a bit further north does make a difference no doubt.

I've had sprouts as early as March 11th in the last couple of years, but don't expect anything by that date this year. Things are still too cold. Looks like were aiming for the start of April for seeds to start popping this year.

Thanks Nicole. I still haven't sown a number of my annuals yet and was a bit worried. Last year, I think the earliest I got anything was around the end of March. Oh well, they sprout when they sprout I guess! :O)
Happy Gardening!

Trish

Yep, I have nothing sprouting yet . . . heck, most of my containers are still almost completely covered with snow even with these last couple warmer days. So I'm not expecting anything for another little while. Although this is my first year so maybe nothing will ever come up. Who knows :)

Trish,

Drippy from Cape Cod Massachussetts just posted on the mother forum that she has sprouts as of today. Like I said, I should start in about 3 weeks. Yeah! Lots of time to do more!!!!

Absolutely no sprouts here, although my tulips are showing some "tips". Hopefully the 'bun-buns' won't eat them all. Any wabbit wepellant ideas would be most helpful. Blood meal works, but it's pricey, and has to be renewed often. Gonna get some more Irish Spring soap and grate it around..any other folks have non-cruel responses for rabbits?

Wendy, funny enough, I was just reading a herb catalogue and found this plant. It's called a "Piss-Off" Plant. A quote directly from the catalogue says "...dogs and cats (and rabbits too) stay away if a Piss-Off Plant is nearby." I hope I don't offend anybody with this name...I will include the link to the catalogue so you can see and read about it yourself. Never tried it myself but if it really works, I can't see the harm in trying it. I actually got the catalogue from Canada Blooms.

Trish

Here is a link that might be useful: Richters Herb Catalogue

Hey, that sounds like its worth a try, Trish! I'm planning a raised bed for the south side of the house and the dogs love to lay around there (hence it will be a raised bed!) but I was worried about them 'marking' it every time they walked by...great idea! Richter's has so many plants to chose from, don't they.

Lupines today...yahooooo! M

I'm so envious. I still have nothing, and am starting to get a little worried. I hope some of them (at least) sprout :)

Congratulations Mora!

Way to go Mora! I don't know when I'm gonna see any there's lots and lots of rain in the forecast and the night temps are still hovering around 0C. I still have lots to sow, so I'll keep going and going...the sprouts will come.

I've no sprouts but then I am just starting. Our Jan. we got 4 ft. of snow & the cold settled in & Feb was far too cold to winter sow (-20ºC to -35ºC). So I'm just starting now - I know I'm late but I like Trudy's hunks method. I use clear plastic salad green boxes. They work great. So this week I'm in seed planting mode - every minute will be planting and planting and planting. Anyone else as late to start as me?

Wow Mora!! Did you feed them some steroids or something?? LOL!! Egads! I'd better go out and have a chat with my seeds. Better yet, it's too cold today so I'll just stay by my nice woodstove...

Congrats!

Yup I live in Scarborough, zone 6A, I checked my winter sowing containers. I have alyssum and godetia seedlings.

I thought that I was in zone 5 but when I got a Vesseys catalogue, it had zone 6a. I live in the Kitchener/Waterloo area in ont. Can anyone tell me which zone this is? I dont have any sprouts yet.

I have several seedlings started indoors. I have one of those plastic covered greenhouses from HD and wondered how soon I could put them out in it on my back deck (appears to be sheltered from a lot of wind)I am in the K/W area.

Dahlitsa, I just looked up the Canadian Plant Hardiness Zone Map and I went to Kitchener and it said 5b, Watch out for Vessey zoning, it lists alot of plants a zone below what there actual hardiness is. Janet

I'm 5B/6A and I have sprouts of 2 kinds of milkweed and most all my lupines. Everything else is still sleeping away.

Barb
southern Ontario, CANADA

I do have sprouts some poppies, rock cress, carnations, flax, and dame's rocket now. Hopefully this little freeze were having won't affect them too much! :0)

I think I may actually have my first sprout - Sweet William sooty. Other than that, no activity worth speaking of yet :( Maybe after these snow flurries we'll start seeing some more growth!

I can't believe so many of you have sprouts already. We had a few quite warm days here in Ottawa and I saw nothing. Of course, I finished my annuals only last night so it's a plus for me. But my snowdrops are up and a few crocuses today, and my daffodils and some species tulips have sprouted so I know it's coming. But we are back in the deep freeze today - temps in the minus 5 range. What a tease spring can be!!!!

Well, I may have a sprout (debatable), but my crocuses and daffodils aren't coming up yet. Just one tip of one tulip. Granted, they were just planted last fall and I hear that, when they are new, they'll come up later.

This cold weather and snow can't be good for anything that may just have started to sprout :(

This cold weather and snow can't be good for anything that may just have started to sprout :(

You'd be surprised cziga, last week, 3 containers of my wintersowingÂs sprouted (hardy perennials that is) and in the past few nights we have gotten down in the double digits. They are all doing fine, talk about tough little buggers.

If they were tender/ half-hardy annuals that had sprouted, well, that might be a different story. This is why I donÂt sow annuals till later in the spring and or sow tenders as usual indoors ;)

Oh btw, snow is what you want when its freezing cold out there, snow is Ma Natures big blanket to keep them protected and insulated.

Sharon

Seems every trip to my unheated greenhouse I find some new sprouts. I've put scads of pots out there to germinate whenever they reach their germinating temperature AKA winter sown. So far Penstemons confertus, palmeri, strictus. Also Hemerocalus Crimson Pink, Thalictrum lucidum, Salvia aethiopsis, Bouteloua gracilis, Petrophytum and red Lupins. The spring temperatures of late March were just what they needed but this last 3 days of minus temps will slow down things. Just as well, the garden clean up can't be started until all this snow is gone again!

I hope so . . . I'm getting so ancy waiting for the temperatures to warm up a little. Our forecast says "ice pellets" for next weekend, which is not encouraging.

I'm in the Ottawa area & yesterday found I have two kinds of lupins sprouting-Russel mix & Chandelier (pale yellow) and agrostemma and malva sylvestris. I was doing the happy dance. lol

Congrats! It is a great feeling :)

I still have no sprouts but I saw little daffodil heads peeking out of the muddy sludge that is my garden at present. I probably gave your happy dance a run for it's money!