Cool Flowers: Growing Flowers in the Winter
You know those cartoons of a person at a desk with the papers flying everywhere? Lol That’s how I feel right now as I try to organize myself for fall seed starting. But that’s only because I’m a farmer. It doesn’t have to be that way for you.
“Fall seed starting?!” you may say? Yes. You have the option to plant certain flowers in the fall. Why is this? Because some plants require a period of cold before they will germinate, and some plants simply do better when they’re grown in cooler conditions. This gives you an earlier harvest the next year.
Techniques like this can often be confusing and frustrating for new gardeners who have the zeal to plant everything but not the knowledge. I’ve only been growing for… how many years... 4 years now? And I don’t know everything. But with the understanding I had each year – I tried things. And the results let me know what I did right and what I could do better next year. No one wants to hear this. I understand: you roll your eyes and grunt in frustration (at least I did lol… and still do sometimes :D) But there’s no other way. “Go with the strength you have” the scripture says. And since knowledge is power: Go with the knowledge you have – whatever little knowledge that may be.
Ok now that we’ve gotten past my lecture on hesitation - back to me, since it’s the easiest starting point for this discussion. My seed trials for last year were only a handful. The rudbeckias, feverfew, yarrow, nigella and bachelor buttons did very well over winter. The statice and strawflowers died – all of them lol. The snapdragons made it through but I lost half of them.
What did I learn?
What will survive:
My area usually gets lows down to the single digits in winter (Fahrenheit.) Strawflowers and Statice typically do not survive those temps. It’s best to plant them in early spring when it’s cool but not likely to drop into the single digits. Even then, they will need some protection if it frosts or freezes. Rudbeckias, nigella, feverfew, yarrow and bachelor buttons do just fine in my weather. Bachelor buttons did not need frost protection. Snapdragons can survive but they need to be covered.
How do I prepare them for overwintering?
Contrary to what may be assumed, cool weather plants need to be started long before freezing temps actually arrive lol
They need to be started 12 weeks before your first frost. After 6 weeks of growing, they need to be transplanted outside to get established before the frost comes.
I repeat:
The seeds need to be started 12 weeks (aka 3 months) before your first frost. They grow inside for 6 weeks. Then they are transplanted into the ground for the next 6 weeks.
Hopefully that was clear enough.
Now for some practical application:
Google will tell you when your estimated first frost will be – that is, the first day you can expect 32 degrees Fahrenheit at the beginning of winter. Count back 12 weeks from that and then start your seeds. Count back 12 weeks from that and start your seeds THEN. (That was not a typo. It was said again so that you get it.) After six weeks of growing, your plant may be 3-5 inches tall. Plant them into the ground so that they have 6 weeks to establish roots to survive the winter. They will remain dormant during winter but they will be strong enough to survive.
(Please re-read that paragraph to really get the sense of it.)
For myself:
· Google says that my first frost will be Nov 2nd.
· 12 weeks before that is: August 10th. So I will start my seeds on August 10th.
· 6 weeks later is Sept 21st. I will transplant my seedlings outside on Sept 21st.
· They will have 6 weeks to grow some roots.
· Nov 2nd my first frost (32 degrees Fahrenheit) may come and my plants will go dormant.
If you plant a week or 2 late, don’t panic. You’re probably still gonna be fine. The weather doesn’t always do what you expect it to do. Try it. If you plant nothing, you will certainly get nothing. But if you plant something, you may get something – and more than you expect possibly. If you start your seedlings a few weeks late, you can always cover them with frost fabric when the first frost comes and this will buy you some time. Once again: don’t. panic. Do not give yourself a heart attack because you didn’t place your seed at a 45 degree angle… Meaning: they will probably be fine. Relax.
The only thing I start sooner is rudbeckia because it takes longer to grow. So I start it at least a couple weeks before everything else. Once again, if you can’t start it early: just. start. it.
Snapdragons: when the first frost is expected, I will be sure to cover them with frost fabric. You can easily find it on Amazon. And there you will see examples of how to use it. (Just FYI I will probably cover everything else too just to be safe) If the weather fluctuates and gets into the 50’s, I will lift the fabric to allow more airflow.
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… So, cool weather crops have to be started when it’s… warm? Yes! Surprise!!! That’s probably the biggest surprise of all when you’re first trying this. It can be misleading.
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This has been a brief overview of what I’ve done. This information is limited to the specific crops I mentioned.
Google will tell you when your first frost is. Your planting dates will be determined by that. The crops I mentioned (with the exception of Statice and Strawflowers) can survive my temps down to 0 degrees F, in the conditions I mentioned. If you are trying a different flower, Google will tell you what the lowest temperature it can survive is. If your area typically gets colder than that – do not plant it in fall. Plant it in spring instead.
If you’d like a more in-depth discussion of this concept, I recommend the book “Cool Flowers” by Lisa Mason Ziegler and the Youtube videos she has on this subject. Her Youtube channel is: The Gardener’s Workshop.
I’ve simplified it as much as I can. And I really hope it helps you. It’ll be so exciting to see how your projects turn out. Please, please share them with me over on Instagram and Facebook. Tag: lovelyrainflowerfarmmd. Happy Gardening! Wishing you beautiful flowers in the spring!
Toodles!
Kerri.
