Autumn sown annuals- is it worth it?

[caroline7758]

I've been reading on Higgledy Garden about sowing annual seeds in late summer/early  Autumn to get a head start for next year. Does anyone do this (apart from sweet peas) and is it worth it/ successful? (Bearing in mind I'm in Yorkshire!).

[caroline7758]

[johhnyco15]

i dont not even sweet peas i look at it this way a winter of looking after said  annuals  or a well earned rest and start early spring for a two maybe three week earlier show to me id rather the rest however im sure there are loads of people with other views

[Tee Gee]

Autumn sown annuals

Do you mean biennials?

I have found that over the years my methods have changed simply because I have developed and improved my facilities in particular permanent heating and protections.

The biggest killer of over wintered plants is the wet rather than the cold, when you get both of these together it is often lethal to plants.

Just think if you are wading through slush in cold weather  and your footwear lets in the wet, usually your feet are much colder than they would be if wading through the slush with waterproof footwear.

So waterproofing your plant covering helps, hence the cold frame!

The frame is cold but relatively dry so creating a better environment for plants.

The main reason for sowing in Autumn is because the soil and quite often the air temperature is relatively warm meaning conditions are warm enough for germination to take place.

With plants such as wallflower and Sweet William which are biennials I like to sow these in mid to late summer so that I can pot them up and grow them on so that I can plant them out to become established prior to the onset of winter..

Personally I rarely Autumn sow because I have heat available in Jan/Feb meaning I can replicate the Autumn temperatures and have enough cool dry storage to protect the plants until they are large enough to plant out, plus they do not go through a semi- dormant stage caused by the low temperatures as with Autumn sown plants.

So to sum up I would say that what you plan to sow and what facilities you have will play a large part in your potential success.

I hope this helps you to make your mind up should you wish to have a go at this method of sowing seeds.

[caroline7758]

Might try some Calendula as I've collected so much seed  and I know they are pretty tough, so nothing to lose. If anyone's interested this is the info I was reading- even he admits it's not guaranteed  to work.

http://higgledygarden.com/2015/08/07/late-summer-early-autumn-sowing-of-hardy-annual-flower-seeds/

[Tee Gee]

Calendula are one of the most prolific self seeders I know and once you get them in your garden you may have them for ever more.

When I sowed mine many many years ago I treated them  as Spring sown annuals and I have never sown them since.

Now a days they are a big part of my weeding programme and still I get a few coming into flower every year.

So best of luck!

[small]

I've tried it years ago (East Midlands) with the really hardy stuff like Godetia and Linaria, and although they did germinate and live, they didn't make good strong plants like spring sown seed. Calendula are the reliable ones, as someone has said, they are like weeds in my veg patch but I always leave a few, one overwintered plant was flowering well by April this year! It was a mild winter here, though, frankly in Yorkshire I don't think I'd bother.

[Flighty]

I grow annual flowers on the plot but I only sow in the spring, mostly during April.  However I do let some self-seed which start growing in the autumn before becoming dormant over the winter.
I don't autumn sow as I usually only decide what I'm growing where over the winter. 
Pot marigolds are my favourite flowers so I do grow lots as you can see!

[Silverleaf]

Lovely, Flighty! I especially like the pale bronze-coloured ones.

[sunloving]

I was thinking about giving it a go but with a seedbed in the unsheathed polytunnel. It would be great to have early calendula nigella and esholtzia flowers. But I guess it just all depends upon the weather.
I dry my calendula flowers and use them to make hand creams and soaps and so the more the better.
Good luck if you give it a whirl maybe we could report back as a bit of a trial? X sunloving