I have good germination on one jug of dianthus, none in a jug of another dianthus.
2 of 3 jugs of different snapdragons have sprouted, and the one with no sprouts was some old seeds, probably 5 years old. Liastris sprouted weeks ago, but most are still laying flat, haven't popped upright yet.
Good germination in 2 jugs of alyssum, as always.
A few sprouts in forget-me-nots.
Good germination on yellow rud hirta, a few sprouts in Cherry Brandy (seeds were from last year)
First 2 White Swan echinacea popped today.
A LOT of germination in penstemon smallii. (I wasn't even sure the seeds were ripe when I harvested them)
None in platycodon, as always. This is year #5 and I've never had a sprout!

Karen

Karen, you inspired me to go outside and check my jugs:

Germination in Calendula and Alyssum happened two weeks ago, but today I saw lots of pansy germination (six different varieties), some in aquilegia (Colorado Violet & White) and echinacea (Purple Coneflower) and Berlandiera Lyrata ( Chocolate Daisy) , and some in three cups of sunflowers that I can't figure out why I WS'd them so early!!

Man, it's cold here on the Cape today, 34 F, with a wind-chill that must be down in the 'teens. But as I stuck my finger down into my jugs in the sun, the air actually felt relatively balmy inside! Amazing how that works.

here is my germinated list so far

http://davesgarden.com/communi...

I have the following germination:

Rudbeckias (several)
Gaillardias (several)
Sweet-scented evening stocks
Caryopteris
Penstemons (several)
Salvias (several)

Had to open one of my containers this afternoon because the seedlings are starting to press on the top of it. It's one of those bing cherry containers from Sam's Club and has worked well. Holes already in top and bottom. How convenient was that?

Actually, when I tried those, I didn't like them, for the reason you're encountering. They're shallow, and don't have enough head room for seedlings. Up here, we can get frosts well into May, and by then seedlings can be pretty tall. If you can't close the lid for frost, that's a problem.

We have issues this far north that you don't often encounter. I like my milk jugs best

Karen

I am always amazed at the variation in zone frost dates, Angie! We're both in zone 7, but you've got seedlings pushing up against the top of your containers and I've only got puny little guys, and am very glad to see 'em!
If you think you might need further protection for your tall seedlings, one solution might be to place a gallon-sized zip-lock type plastic baggie over your container, open-side down, and with holes in the top cut for ventilation/watering. I've done this, using sticky duct-tape if necessary to afffix the baggie to the container.

Thanks, Emily, for that tip in case of late freeze. I'm hoping we've had our last cold spell for the winter, but we'll see what Mother Nature thinks. We seldom see eye to eye!

Karen, this is the first time I tried those containers and so far I'm happy with them, although I can see how it would be a problem in areas where winter lasts longer than here. I've popped the top partially open to give those babies some head room and I just hope they'll be good to go in the ground in a couple of weeks.

I didn't use any milk jugs this year, sticking strictly with the 2-liter soda bottles and various other containers like the big lettuce and bing cherry containers. The soda bottles are much easier to work with and I like being able to see what the root development is, which I can't do very well with the milk jugs.

I found a container with a couple of unexpected sprouts in it....from last year! I had a few duds from last year that I had held out hope for, and they ended up out there all winter. I was dumping the soil from them and found 2 Columbine seedlings in the one labeled 'William Guiness'. I knew Columbine could be really slow sometimes, but I never expected that!

Me too, Neal. I sowed some sea holly (eryngium) last summer. Instructions on packet did not say to stratify. It didn't sprout except for one pathetic little thing, too small for me to bother. I left the jug out there all winter, and yesterday found 3 teeny, tiny little sprouts.

I guess it did need cold strat afterall.

Karen

Emily I'm in zone 7 down here but it's way different from what a NY 7 felt like. I think when they changed the zone maps they really blew it.

MollyD

I've got echinacea, pansies, calendula, rudbeckia, violas, foxgloves, hollyhocks, marigolds, coreopsis, and one lone columbine seedling (out of several seeds sowed ) all nicely popping up in my jugs as of this morning. oh yes, some sunflowers too.
These are all pretty reliable WS-ers, but I'm always thrilled to see them anyway! In fact, I've had to repot the calendula seedlings and set them inside my plastic greenhouse. Haven't started to WS the "tenders" like zinnias and tomatoes yet, but I will soon.

Molly, I have to agree with you--the standard USDA horticultural zones (1 through 11) aren't nearly detailed enough. For instance, my daughter in the DC area and I (Cape Cod) are both stated to be in zone 6b-7a. But our growing seasons, rainfall, and temperature fluctuations are quite different. I prefer the Sunset Magazine climate zones, which are somewhat more descriptive--yet even their zone 34 description doesn't accurately describe our average last frost date, which is May 25th!

Cape Cod, according to Sunset zones:
ZONE 34. Lowlands and Coast from Gettysburg to North of Boston
Growing season: late April to late Oct. Ample rainfall and humid summers are the norm. Winters are variable–typically fairly mild (around 20 degrees F/-7 degrees C), but with lows down to -3 degrees to -22 degrees F/-19 degrees to -30 degrees C if arctic air swoops in.

Northern Virginia, according to Sunset:
ZONE 32. Interior Plains of Mid-Atlantic States; Chesapeake Bay, Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey
Growing season: late Mar. to early Nov. Rain falls year-round (40" to 50" annually); winter lows (moving through the zone from south to north) are 30 degrees to 20 degrees F/-1 degree to -7 degrees C. Humidity is less oppressive here than in Zone 31.

Emily I lived in the Catskills for 20 years and later in the Fingerlakes of NY for 4 years and we were zone 4b there. Your 7 description sounds similar to the 4b I experienced though we probably got more snow (yearly average was 8 feet).

In this zone 7 I now live in it is very warm (87 last few days and today). We're cooling off to 70 tomorrow . Plants are running about 1 month ahead of my sister's garden in Poughkeepsie, NY. Azaleas are blooming, daffodils are finished, tulips are almost done. Iris buds are up and almost ready to bloom. Most early magnolias are finished blooming. Quince shrub finished too as did several early blooming trees I can't identify. In other words we're done with early spring and moving into mid to late spring.

MollyD

It's 81° here now, has been unseasonably warm here for a couple of weeks. 60% chance of rain tomorrow (we could use it) followed by highs in the 60s. That's more like it. My jugs are really drying fast.

Have been working in the yard since 10 a.m., so hot and tired I could drop.Taking a little lunch break now. I have to clean up the house some, then can finally take a shower.

I don't know if I've ever been that hot working in my yard in mid-April.

Karen

I can remember some really warm late March and early April weather in the 1990's. Not the norm of course.

MollyD

here is my germinated list so far.. 15 left to go

http://davesgarden.com/communi...

Today, I spent several hours finishing clearing volunteers from the last of my 3 island beds. SO GLAD that job is finished. It was a heck of a lot of work.

Karen

Wow, Allison, that is one impressive journal of your germinated WS seeds!
Karen, now you've got room for some new WS babies! Congratulations! I need to go out and do what you did.
Our daytime temps are still elatively cool, lower 50s--with nights in the low 40s--very typical of the Cape Cod Spring, so I'm still setting out WS jugs. More tender seeds will go out in a week or so.
Anybody read the most recent White Flower Farm e-mail newsletter about "what this winter has taught us"? Very interesting about the warming trend that has been noticed in the last years.

I know we didn't have a warming trend last year... very cool summer... and wet

Today I am doing something new (for me)--I've removed the covers/lids of several of the jugs with well-grown WS seedlings, to give them a bit of room . Then I've set the bottom half of the jugs into a little plastic greenhouse (unheated). They'll still be protected from the cold. They'll remain in the greebhouse until I can plant them out, which will a while! Ordinarily I leave them covered with their little lids until MAy and plant-out time, but this will be easier for DH to sprinkle with water should they need to be watered, while I'm away for a week.

Sorry, Allison, I wasn't clear. What the WFF writer was mentioning was the trend towards warmer WINTERS that they have noticed over the past years in their region of Connecticut.
I actually don't have enough "history" with winter weather to comment--only moved to New England four years ago (previously in temperate Monterey, CA.)
I agree: last summer here on the Cape was really cool and wet, to my tomatoes' displeasure!

Here's the White Flower Farm newsletter.

https://mail.google.com/a/gobl...