OK...Confess

OH! It wasn't new or old dawn! It was a fairy - growing successfully outside Bertucci's everywhere.

you are too funny. I would guess that if there is seed naturally ready in the yard now, it's fair game to wintersow. Makes sense since mother nature would be sowing it...

My son and his wife came to visit last weekend, and told me I was living in a forest.
My washroom is full of brugs, and twigs that I'm trying to root, It's the only sunny window available. I also have 4 Daturas, I started from seeds, and as if that isn't enough, I'm expecting a box full of cuttings. And since some of you are starting now wintersowing daylilies, I don't see any reason why I shouldn't try peonie seeds. Do you? :0)
Bern

Man, am I in trouble! I now have soooo many seeds (more arrived today!). It is sooo hard to wait to start wintersowing.

You can do it! You can do it! You can do it! You can do it! You can do it! You can do it! You can do it! You can do it! You can do it! You can do it! You can do it! You can do it!

Thanks Carrie!

Update, Update:

Here are the datura seedlings I started in October to begin this thread :)
What will I ever do with them come April/May? I KNOW I won't be able to put them in the ground until June here in Maine *lol*

These are Datura "Ballerina". I'm thinking maybe I will make them houseplants *lol*
I don't know, I just HAD to start SOMETHING *lol*

Goodness, I forgot the first picture....... *lol*

my park seed shipment came today, I'm going to need more milk cartons and soda bottles. Has anyone done petunias or are they too tender? I know I've had volunteers a few times.

I've checked on the WS website, and don't find heliotrope listed anywhere. Has anyone grown this by WS in zone 5? Any zone? It is one of my fav plants and it kills me to pay $5 for a small plant. Tks!

How did you get the datura to germinate?
i tried to WS them last year, and nothing.

i still have more seeds, and i'd love to see what it actually looks like.
Did you use a heat pad, or just set them in a window?

Terese

You know what is funny Terese? People say Datura is difficult. It is one of the ONLY things I have successfully grown from seed. NOW, things that people say are "easy".....can't grow them *lol*
I just planted them, put them on a heat pad in the windowsill and now I JUST got a light stand so I've moved them to the light stand. The Lilac Lefleur self sowed in my garden last year here in Maine!

I germinated my Brugmansia last summer sitting out on the porch on the concrete in the shade. The concrete was hot so I guess you could say I used bottom heat.
Datura wouldn't be WS in your zone. They aren't hardy supposedly that far north.

People in the South call petunia a perennial ha ha ha. xxxx, Carrie

dylancgc
>>Datura wouldn't be WS in your zone. They aren't hardy supposedly that far north.

were you referring to me, with the WS comment?
I dont have room for a "lamp" but i do have 1 heat mat, where last year i set up a table in my DR bay window -- the only real place to get sun.

what would the best way for me to get these to germinate?

TIA,

Terese

Terese, that is the way I did mine. I put them in moist soil with LOTS of perlite, put a dome over the container and placed it on the heating pad in bright light (not direct sun). Once they sprouted I removed the dome and now I just kind of sprinkle them once in a while. I have moved mine to the grow stand but quite honestly, they look about the same as they did before I moved them a week or so ago :)
Good luck to you :)

I was able to w/s datura and heliotrope. I won't do the heliotrope again as it didn't have enough time to mature. I will either start it in the house or buy it at the nursery. I saved the datura seed, but I'm not so sure I'll repeat it. Then again, there is one other spot that I could give it a try in.

I have germinated Datura via the wintersowing method (in the Spring) and also indoors with a heating mat. Datura's love sun and heat. If you wish to grow these as house plants, I would put them in a South or West window. Start them off with a weak solution of plant food weekly. As they grow, you can adjust the amount of food they need. They will bloom eventually, but sometimes it takes them a while, due to their age and root development.

Also, indoor Datura's are prone to spider mites. I would use an insecticidal soap on them weekly to keep the mites in check.

In my zone 7 garden, Datura's grown outdoors do act as perennials. They drop their seeds in the Fall, re-germinate in the Spring and ultimately flower in the Summer. In fact, they drop so many seeds that they were sprouting up all over my garden!

Haven't started anything inside,under light this year and can't because I lost my mind w/ african violet leaves this year so "no room". I did pot up some buckeye received in trade that were already sprouting but those are out in the greenhouse.

Direct sewed some early spring annuals in the back garden for cuts to take to farmers market at the beginning of the season.Need to till some more area for poppies and larkspurs.

Have baggies full of shrub and trees seeds in damp vermucilite in seed frig and will pot those up in late Dec or early Jan. out in the greenhouse. Speaking of which...I need to check those and make sure nothing has sprouted yet.

P

Yes Terese, the WS comment was for you but evidently I have been proven wrong by Kimskreations. If they come back for her they might for you. I was told they were not even hardy here so I am amazed they are hardy that far north.

Thanks, i'll give them another GO after the holidays. currently the DR window has buffet table in front of it.

Hi Everyone
I'm new here and enjoying every minute reading your posts. I no longer feel like an oddball, thank you very much. I grow under lights in my utility room and have also tried ws without much success. I'm guessing now I started my seeds too early. By April our house will be so filled with seedlings, that the house starts smelling earthy! I have to use a cool bathroom to start hardening off the seedling and then the hardy ones move to a bright spot in the garage. I'm glad to find other obsessed gardeners. Helen

Helen..... BIG welcome to Daves.

Terese

Thanks Terese; I think I'm going to like it here. Helen

Helen, welcome! I know exactly what you mean by "house smelling earthy" with starting seeds inside...I'm so glad I found this winter sowing forum last year. I still have the urge to sow some inside, but at least they are managable and not sitting on my kitchen counter for 3 months! One shelf in my sunroom with a heating mat and an under-the-counter light statisfied my urgency to plant something before winter sowing began. Now if I only had a green house outside, I could really become a sowing addict.

Cordeledawg
Thanks for the warm welcome! You guys are great. I haven't been too successful with winter sowing. I was under the impression I could set them out as soon as the weather was cool enough for a sweater. After reading many posts here, I believe I started too soon. I've saved so many milk jugs that if I don't use some of them, DH will be ready to bop me. I'm in zone 5; when should I start.

BTW, I browsed through some of your pictures and I believe we have similar gardens. :-) Helen

Helen, I'm pretty sure you can do the hardy perennials now. The zinnias I started too early are gone, they sprouted during one of our warm weeks. I'm holding off on my annuals until the first of March, when we still get cold weather but not 5 degrees. That will give them about 8 weeks before I put my plants in the garden. I'm new, so don't listen to anything I say, haha!

This is what I did last year http://www.lakehousecreations.com/wintersown_2007.htm I hope it helps.

Anita, thank you, that information is very helpful.

Happy Birthday, Anitabry2:-)) Hope you're enjoying it!
Bev

Thanks Anitabryk2
I'm in zone 5 at best so maybe I can start in February. Helen

I really hope it helps - I love ws'ing.

Thanks Bev

Anitabryk2
I was leaving the caps on my milk jugs too and I think I read here to leave them off. I need to re-read about ws before I try it again. That might also be part (all) of my problem. :-(

Helen

yes -- you leave them off so they get "watered" whether it be by snow or rain.
same with 2Liter bottles.. .no caps.

definitely no caps.