planting seed

Roger,
I am in zone 7-6 in the Blue Ridge Mts. of NC. I have a sand filled cold
frame and plan to put the pots in there as soon as they are planted. It is
a covered frame that I open occasionally if it is going to rain and it
needs some moisture, I also prop it open a different amount depending on
the temps. I have propagated perennial seeds for many years, I plant them
in the fall because most of them need a chilling to enable them to
germinate. A bulb that would germinate in the fall and then not have time
to go into dormancy before it gets really cold I did not know when to plant
it, especially some that are marginally hardy here. I think that I will
wait to plant those seeds until late winter, keep them in the frige. until
them.

I just transplanted some pots of martagon lillys that I started from seed
from NARGS about 3 years ago. I was excited to find nice bulbs down near
the bottom of the pots, about 1" x 1" all nice and firm. Can't wait until
they are big enough to bloom.

Mary Sue, I have tried to navigate the wiki and have not found the article
you called out, I don't understand how to get around it and find things. I
get on the wiki and scroll down to the list of articles but I have not
found the one you ID. Am I not looking in the right place or somethinga

On Sun, Aug 27, 2017 at 12:02 PM, Rodger Whitlock <totototo@telus.net>
wrote:

Anita Roselle <anitaroselle@gmail.com> wrote:

I am new to planting bulb seed and am not sure about planting at this

time of year. I have seed of Glads, Hebranthus. Lillium that will be
marginally hardy here. I plan to put them in a covered cold frame for
the winter.

Should I plant them now or wait till spring, if yes how late in the
fall should they be planted? I am concerned that they will germinate
now and not go dormant by winter. Have not been able to find out the
answer to this so your response will be helpful.

Look forward to hearing from you,

But no one knows where you live!

People! Good gardening techniques are highly dependent on where the garden
is. but Anita didn't say.

Moscow? Puerto Vallarta? Minot? Las Vegas? Bellingham? Santiago? Cape
Town? Taipei?

Note that this involves more than climatic factors. Soil, which can vary
significantly over very short distances, is another, and exposure yet a
third. Examples:

Here in Victoria, BC, we have a mild maritime climate with some light
frosts most winters, short but severe freezes some winters. The soil is
mostly derived from sticky blue marine clay deposited while glaciers
depressed the land below sea level, but there are areas with quite sandy
soil, also compliments of the glaciers. As for exposure, remember that
peach orchardists in tricky locations plant on the north side of slopes
where it's colder and spring flowering is later.

A covered cold frame is a very good idea unless you are in a location with
serious winter cold that deeply freezes the soil.

Note that cold frames have other advantages than just protection from
frost: they keep excessive winter rain off the plants inside, and they also
keep some pests at bay, notably crows who are fond of plant pot labels.

When the prevailing temperature is near freezing or higher, you will want
to keep your cold frame(s) propped open just a little for ventilation.

I'd sow now, water well, just once, then put the pots in the cold frame.
Don't think you'll park them o/ut in the open and then in the cold frame
later: if you are like me, step 2 (putting them in the cold frame) is
likely to be overlooked later on.

But, that said, I have to mention that when I used to sow a hundred pots a
year, it was only when seed arrived from the various society exchanges in
December or January that the job was possible. It's a little like
Christopher Lloyd's advice to take cuttings when you have the opportunity
(e.g. on a visit to someone's garden), even though it's not the "right"
time of year.

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