Which annuals do you direct seed outdoors in fall?

Larkspur do great direct sown in fall. They usually sprout before the winter freeze here and winter over as tiny seedlings. Poppies and bachelor buttons tend to do the same for me.

Karen

Karen

good idea. What zone are you in?

Never thought of that, wonder if they would do the same here? I collected some bb seeds in the early summer. Time for an experiment?

I asked the question and then forgot about it.
So far I have sowed some perennials and biennials.
Cerastium alpina
Lychnis Alba

Dill is my one sowed annual so far.

Columbine would do well too. They like the freezing and thawing. I noticed that I do better with the seed I spread for columbine during the summer than if I try to WS them or start them in the greenhouse.....

I had sowed columbine seeds in my new north of house shade garden.
Yes, they seem to do best by direct seeding.

I think the real trick to germinating columbine is getting them fresh. When picked from the plant and thrown on the ground, (or dropped naturally by the plant) they sprout like crazy. Once the seeds sit around for a while, it gets tough to overcome their dormancy.

That said, I have germinated regular old commercial columbine seeds by wintersowing. Not all sprouted, germination rate was lower than some other plants, but I got enough sprouts.

Karen

I know Carpet of Snow alyssum is an annual and I wonder if I left it where it is planted now during the winter, if it will reseed itself and show back up in the Spring? I seem to recall that some reappeared for me one year but the memory is faint, was it alyssum or something else?

They sometimes reseed for me. Sometimes it's in fall, then the seedlings die off over winter. But some years they wait until spring. Depends on the weather I guess.

Karen

Caroline,

Do have success sowing poppies in the fall?

Don't know about your zone, Joanne, but the poppies here have a mind of their own and sow themselves in the fall, and try to take over the entire garden (as well as other spots!) in the spring.

Not annual poppies---but Iceland poppies can be fall sown, or they sow their selves.
Annual poppies like cooler conditions so I try to sow early spring.(papaver somnifleurum).
Shirley poppies like warmer, so wait until May for Shirley poppies (papaver rhoeas).

I'm kind off late on this thread, but will add Calendula, and Cerinthe major. They can be sown in the fall. I have some Cerinthe popping up from some plant I had growing there two yrs ago, that have self sown.

Do the new varieties of Calendula grow from fall sowing?
My calendula does not self seed the way it used to.
I am wondering if this is because I have been introducing new varieties?
Or maybe critters are taking the seeds?

the critters taking my seeds .. a big problem here

The following flowers volunteer in my garden in the fall.
Johnny jump ups
oriental poppies
shirley poppies
somniferum poppies
larkspurs
forget me nots
foxglove
Nigella
Most of these are prolific and need to be weeded out. I do have some white Shirley poppies that I am going to sow as it snows. I have had good success in sowing them on top of the snow.

What a great list of self seeders, you have.
It depends on the year here----I did seed several on top of snow.
I will see which seeds survived the deep freeze to the minus 25 or so!

Cold temps and freezing aren't a problem for seeds, Carolyn. For directly sown seeds, problems arise from stuff like rotting from wet, or being carried off and/or eaten by critters. Some also simply wash away...

Karen

I think that I over seeded so if some are lost---there will be some that survive.
I have always wondered about seed tolerance to cold?