Hi i'm a newbie at this gardening malarkey, (addictive isnt it?) I have had some success at growing vegetables over the summer and have recently treated myself to a few packets of flower seeds which say I can sow them now. I have holly hocks, fox gloves, coleus, stocks, larkspur, candytuft, calendula and sweet peas, (quite a collection i know:o) my question is do i directly sow these? or sow them in modules and keep in the greenhouse until the spring?. I'm completely clueless as the only flowers i've been successful with so far are marigolds. Thanks for your help.
Welcome to the forum Newbielou. I'm a pretty experienced seed grower but I wouldn't plant those seeds now. It's late in September and I think you would only be making a load of work for yourself and/or risking very high losses. I think if you held onto them and planted in the spring you would get much better results. But see what others think.
Hi Newbielou Thee are a small number of seeds that are best sown in autumn, but for most as Alice says they are best sown in spring - and I think that yours generally fall in that category. But you usually get a lot of seed in a packet - so why not try sowing a few now as an experiment. Then sow the rest in spring. I never sow more than half a packet at a time - I always keep some back in reserve. But I wouldn't do the Coleus - they are usually not very hardy. Some sweet peas are not that hardy either - but I don't grow them so am not sure. I always like to sow into seed trays or small pots for all seeds that I grow. You generally have much better control over them, and will get a higher rate of sucess.
ok thank you for both of your replies, i really appreciate it. I'll wait until the spring, patience isnt one of my strengths .
