Hi Brad - the link below is one PA site that lists noxious/invasive plants. Butterfly bush is on the Watch list. You may want to do a little more research before growing/planting those. Another PA gardener posted about it months ago and it really took me by surprise. It's not invasive or noxious where I am. Sorry to rain on your parade of seed. Good luck with the others on your list!

Here is a link that might be useful: PA Watch List of Invasive Plants

Hi gardenweed,

Uh oh and I just planted one this past June! Luckily I do keep mine deadheaded. It's in seperate area away from my other flowers though and I read some varieties are sterile. Not sure if mine's a hybrid or the species since it has light purple flowers. My one neighbor has one and I've seen it planted in other people's gardens downtown too.

Keeping my fingers crossed that the others germinate and grow well.

Brad AKA Moonwolf

The light purple ones I grew from seed my first year are prolific and might be one culprit. 'Black Knight' produces lots of seed but I've never found any volunteers around mine. The seeds ripen so late in the season, maybe that's one reason it doesn't produce any unwanted extras.

Best of luck with yours!

Back on topic, I'm looking forward to growing a few new ones myself:

Japanese red maple
Threadleaf Japanese red maple
New England aster
Crocosmia 'Lucifer'
Hardy geranium 'Splish Splash'
Scabiosa/pincushion flower 'Beaujolais Bonnets'

It's shaping up to be a busy winter!

Dont' worry about the Butterfly Bush. If you deadhead you're doing the right thing. Personally, I love them. I keep mine in check, and I do have several, by cutting them down halfway after their first flush of blooms has faded. When the second set comes and goes I do the same thing. In my garden they can grow very large, very fast, so capping them at knee or waist height works wonders for their control.

I've been treating myself to several large lots from Daylily Auction. Slurp.

Brad, I was out in my garden today, cleaning it up for the winter. Joe Pye Weed was in the wrong place, when we went to move it, we found a huge tap root that was impossible to get out. It grew very tall and the flowers were all right, but I've also read that it is invasive. We are so sorry that we planted it. You may want to research it before you winter sow it.

I'm taking a walk this weekend to see if I can find any Eastern Hemlock pinecones. (Not sure if I'll find any, as this seems to be a year where there aren't many cones on any of native conifers in my yard.)

Over the last 15 years, I lost a number of beautiful hemlocks to the wooly adelgid. Then about 5 years ago, my state introduced experimental controls in the state forest surrounding my home. My remaining trees have rebounded over the last couple years, with no evidence of this horrid pest. I'm hoping I can get enough seeds planted and grown to replace trees I've lost, and perhaps build a "hedge" in a small section of my yard.

This WS technique may be just the way to get a number of new trees started in an inexpensive way!

I'm only doing a few flowers this year,mostly to give away to my daughter and friends.I am looking forward to wintersowing tree seeds,I have some japanese maple'emperor 1'seed and some northern catalpa seed and tatarian maple'flame' and a rain tree and then some shrubs beautybush and fatherhugo rose and fatherdavids rose..And tomatos

Penstemon, primrose, christmas rose, red lupine, and surprises from seed swaps.

The first year I WS was also the first year I tried growing trees from seed. I WS both white-flowering and Kousa dogwood seeds and every seed germinated. In my giddy excitement, I gave away all but two of the dogwoods and those are on their third year growing in large containers. They grow 12-15 inches per year.

Last year I grew apple & pear trees for a neighbor and got 100% germination with 4 apple seeds & 10 pear seeds. Seeds were WS on the solstice; pear sprouted April 10 and apple sprouted April 15. I've got more apple seeds to WS this year along with Japanese red maple, threadleaf Japanese red maple & dogwood. The catastrophic October snowstorm damage left me with lots of room to plant them all.

Lois -- just a heads up. I WS primrose (the pink kind) 3 years ago and I am still trying to get rid of it. It's incredibly invasive, sends out shoots and kills surrounding plants, has tons of seeds, and are perrenial. I'm still yanking them! They are very verry pretty, but have been a nightmare for me... I read up on EVERYTHING now before I plant!

On the "looking forward to" side --- I'm excited to WS shasta daisies, gloriosa daisies, and anything I can get a hold of that looks like a daisy. Looking forward to trying some new zinias and poppies, too!

Leisa

Leisa, thanks for the good reminder about researching before you plant.

I am assuming your pink primrose wasn't the common Primula vulgaris or English primrose, but rather Oenothera speciosa. Is that correct?

I'm looking forward to sowing Primula after reading that they're easy for beginners to start from seed, though I have no Primula seeds yet. When I've protected plants from slugs & overhead rain I've had a long season of late winter early spring bloom when not much else is in bloom here except for spring bulbs.

Here is a link that might be useful: Oenothera speciosa

Yep -- I tried the Oenothera one and it is evil... lol... I have a yellow one that is not nearly as invasive, but I don't know the name of it. It might be called a Missouri primrose?

Leisa

Oh, it's the primula primrose that I am looking forward to, not the Oenothera type, LOL.

I'm looking forward to planting different kinds of salvia's. I don't have
many now.
Ballon flower
Cuphea's
Red Spider Zinnia. I bought the seeds from SSE in 2007. Wasn't really
impressed with the flower, so I just ignored it and never saved seeds.
Since then one plant has always popped up somewhere. This year one
was growing in the pot I have a Meyer Lemon in. Year before that one
popped up in a pot I had a pepper in. Before that I don't remember, but
it was there somewhere. This zinnia really wants to be in my garden.
I've come to respect and appreciate it now. This year I saved some seeds.
If there was a Wintersown category for perseverance it would be zinnia
red spider for me.

Okay! I have my seeds picked out to sow on the Solstice! None of these I have sown before so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Mother Nature-Joe Pye Weed
Life-Cardinal Flower
Leap Of Faith-Blue Vervain
Remembrance-Boneset

Brad AKA Moonwolf

I'm going to try WS Anitogonon leptpopus/Coral Vine. I only have TWO seeds, and I've never been able to germinate it before, so maybe this will work...

I'm also doing Beauty Berry, Monkshood, columbine, and hollyhocks.

I'm looking forward to
Japanese Red Maple Seeds
Green Headed Echinacheas and any other E. I have.
Rudbeckias
Gloriosa Daisies
giant Delphiniums
Cherry Lupines
Salvias
and Ornamental Grasses
Clematis
Columbine
Digitalis
Black Hollyhocks
Maltese Cross
amongst so many others
I have almost 100 containers prepped.

I ordered the new Rudbeckia's on the Swallowtail site.

I had great success with WS primula capitata ssp. Mooreana
I just ordered these from Hazzards and can't wait:

Primula capitata Salvana
Primula pubescens Exhibition Blue
Primula japonica Carminea
Primula denticulata Cashmeriana Ruby

Always excited about oriental & california poppies & Zinnia, have some new ones to try

Also excited about:
PORTULACA, TOUCAN FUCHSIA
PORTULACA, SUNDIAL FUCHSIA
SCABIOSA, FAMA DEEP BLUE