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christie_sw_mo

What are you starting from seed in 2012?

christie_sw_mo
12 years ago

Has anyone been winter sowing or starting seeds under lights?

I've winter sown several containers this year, not sure where I'm going to plant them all if they come up but I'll make room somewhere. Here's what I've started so far:

Echinacea PowWow Wild Berry

Gaillardia 'Arizona Apricot'

Liatris ligulistylis - (Monarchs are supposed to love it)

Red Yucca - third try with this one.

phlox pilosa

cassia hebecarpa (wild senna) Swamp Milkweed

Purple Milkweed

Aristolochia fimbriata - a ground cover pipevine with white veins that may not be hardy here.

Castilleja coccinea (Indian Paintbrush)

lantana - seeds marked 'Miss Huff' from a trade

pawpaw

wafer ash - host plant for Giant Swallowtails

I'm forgetting a few but I'm not going to venture outside to look at my containers until it warms up. Hope the Sharpie doesn't wash off or I'll have a lot of surprises when they start coming up.

I'm just about out of potting soil and have several more that I'd like to start so I need to get to Walmart.

Comments (4)

  • sunnyside1
    12 years ago

    Christie, you just blow me away with your varieties. Your gardens must be truly beautiful.

    I couldn't stand it after I saw Atwood's ad, and went there yesterday for white onion sets. Looking forward to planting lots more Candy onions and Sweet Georgias when they come in.

    I'm going to start Lettuce Leaf Basil; curly and flat parsley; germinate my snow peas in a bag; so far that's it. I do much better with cuttings than with seeds.
    Sunny

  • helenh
    12 years ago

    Indian Paintbrush is an interesting plant. I have seen it in a field before but have never tried to grow it.

    I am not in the planting mood yet but I expect it to hit as soon as we get some real winter weather. We have had some nice days to play with winter sowing jugs. I'll probably wait until my potting mix is frozen in a hard lump.

    Here is a link that might be useful: plant relationships

  • christie_sw_mo
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    This is my second try with Indian Paintbrush. The first time I got a few to germinate but they didn't thrive. My host plant was liatris. This time I'm trying penstemon. I had lots of little penstemon seedlings that volunteered in my yard and I put a few in the container with my seeds. In another container, I added a couple larger penstemon plants. I don't know if that makes a difference. Just experimenting. I also scattered my left over seeds in the area where my penstemon volunteers are coming up. If none of those work, I might try ordering native grass to plant them with next time.
    That was a good link Helen, one I hadn't come across. It talks about competition which I hadn't thought about.

    Here are the others that I sowed this year: This is partly to help ME remember. lol

    Anise Hyssop
    Aquilegia formosa (second try with last year's seeds)
    Phlox - seeds saved from reverted Peppermint Twist.
    Pulmonaria - last year's saved seeds. Hope these come up because my pulmonaria died and it was a long bloomer.

    I wish I could say my yard is beautiful Sunny - Most of the time I think it looks more like a weed patch with a few flowers in it. I started out planting a long row of shrubs and trees, and have been tucking some perennials and annuals around it. I wonder if it would've been better to just stick with mostly perennials and a couple shrubs here and there since shrubs don't bloom very long. Check out what this 'new' gardener has accomplished in only a year or so. She has a few hundred MORE containers of seeds to add this spring.

    Here is a link that might be useful: winter sowing forum - ws'ers dream come true

  • helenh
    12 years ago

    You may be having an effect on me Christie. Those open jugs of seedlings were beautiful to me. The making beds part is the hard part. I do have an empty milk jug or two and some wet potting mix. Everyone should go outside today!