Re: Starting seeds question

> I have started some seeds, red sunflowers, which I got from my aunt and > morning glories along with various fruit seeds (tangelo, nectarine, peach, > and pluot, and orange I think) I live in zone 9 and it's a long way from > getting cold here. Has anyone ever started seeds in the fall and kept them > going through the winter so they were ready to plant in the spring? I plan > on keeping them in the garage until it gets cold, then bring them inside. I > also plan to start some coleus seeds the same way. > Any advice and help is welcome > Shell

Shell, sunflowers and coleus are an annuals . . . now, it might be warm enough in your zone that they'll grow all winter; but, once they bloom, they're done. Some morning glories are annuals, some are not. The annual ones will do just like the sunflowers; the pernnial ones aren't going to be happy with the light levels in an house. The fruit seeds should be OK if you can give the plants lots of sun . . . however, you need to be aware that the seed of a fruit will not necessarily -- indeed, usually does not

-- match the parent. In addition, many citrus have sterile seeds. Finally, fruit trees can take up to ten years to become productive when grown from seed.

Typically, I recommend that, unless you have a true greenhouse, you not try to get into the project of moving plants in and out of the house. Most plants that do well outdoors don't do well in an house . . . it's too dry and dark.

If you want to plant seeds for the following year, the two schema normally followed are to:

  1. Plant out perennial [and very cold hardy annual] seed in the fall or late winter. It will start growing as soon as conditions are OK in the spring.
  2. Start annual seed in flats 6-12 weeks before you plan on planting it out. This generally requires a dedicated growing-space with appropriate lighting, heat, and air circulation.

Chris Owens

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Chris Owens
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I knew this about the sunflowers and coleus, I'm hoping they will grow during the fall and what passes for winter here and I'll have nice plants early in the spring.

The morning glories are kind of an experiment. I got the seeds from a free offer online so there are several different species. Several have already sprouted.

The fruit trees are for my mom, just to see if we can get them to grow. I did not know that many citrus have sterile seeds. I don't really expect fruit from these trees :)

Thanks for the advice on seeds. I think I'll toss the rest of the morning glory seeds out by the back fence and just see what happens :)

Shell

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Shell91

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