6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Maid, Congratulations on your seed success!
I am torn between saying. Way To Go! and wanting to tell you some things you'll have to watch for, and decided to go ahead... I do not in any way mean to sound negative.
Depending on the size of your bed and the number of seedlings -- watch for the Hollyhocks to get way huge, very fast, and shade anything in their path. I think you should plant these out in their bloom spot in late August and not wait until Spring (and if Foxgloves are on the list anywhere , I think I'd do the same with those, too).
Calendula isn't really a perennial, but will happily bloom this fall, and possibly reseed, so it's not a total bust or anything, it's just that (if it's like mine was this year) it too will get really big, lean over, and possibly shade out smaller things. I'm not sure if you canmove it successfully when it reaches a certain size.
So, WAY TO GO! Just watch out for the fast growers shading out the smaller, and slower growing ones.
Lime
Lime, thanks for the advice. No offence taken, thats why I post here for ideas advice etc, even if sometimes it isn't agreeing with my ideas.
I didn't realize caledulas were annuals. I must see the results of re seeding in my sisters garden. But it's nice to know.
I planned the lay out quite well, the holly hocks are on the edge of the bed so they will be out of the way. I guess I didn't expect them to get too big this season to worry about it. I didn't plant foxglove.
I decided to do it this way thinking this would be the first year of the seedilings, and hoping next spring when they emerge from winter they can be planted out and be somewhat sizeable, but I am not expecting to have full grown plants.
The bed is made out of cinder blocks and divided into sections so in the event something does need to be moved it will be a snap.
I sowed 3 seeds of each variety, so I could determine % rate of germination, and it is actually an experiment so if it is a great big flop, I still have seeds and can try something else.
I found this web page that might be helpful.
You don't have to buy anything to read it.
Here is a link that might be useful: Stuff about starting seeds ...
I got some last year and I was instructed to plant them in the late fall. The trader said Nov 27th to be exact. Make sure the ground is loose, I mixed sand in with mine then put the seeds in w/sand and "shook" the seeds onto the ground, don't cover them, and let them be. Mine came up just fine, I didn't sow mine in Nov, the ground is way to frozen then, I think she meant to wait long enough that nothing is going to sprout, mine came up fine, I wish I knew if they would all return I know some might have self sowed, but not sure how many will make it. Good luck.
anytime in the summer, cosmos like heat and are drought tolerant, once they get established. You will need to keep them watered until they are bigger than a seeding. You're lucky we have such a short growing season here in Montana. I am already planning my winter sown plants and thinking about the next growing season, winter.
maidinmontana,
if you decide to sow seeds now you really need really to watch the slugs as they will chew the whole seedling before your eyes  this is true for Echinacea, Lychnis and Coreopsis. To be on the safe side, sprinkle shredded egg shells on top of the soil, slugs won't climb their sharp edges.
gfult, One of the forget me nots is actually a biennial, so it grows in year one and in year two it blooms (usually in May or early Jun), sets seed and dies.. Presumably it will self sow after it sets seed, but many gardeners are tidy and clip off the brown stems with the dead seed heads which prevents this from happening.
As cheesy says above, if you have a place for forget me nots, they will make a beautiful blue focal point in spring, maybe for years to come. If you put them in the wrong place, they will shade out smaller plants in the spring and look very messy coming up between plants where they don't belong.
Lime
