Sowing hardy perennials in autumn

QuestionsHow to growFlowersBorder Perennial FlowersSowing hardy perennials in autumn
Ritamary Bolton asked 12 years ago

I sowed hardy perennials in late Sept/early oct. some have germinated and are tightly packed in the pot. I think it is too late to prick them out. Will they survive in my plastic greenhouse? I have each pot in a ziplock freezer bag which is open now, but I can close over the winter. I have overwintered older seedlings(from summer sowing) in plastic boxes with snap lids before. this is my first attempt at autumn sowing. Should I do anything else?

1 Answers

Gerry Daly Staff answered 6 years ago
If the seedlings are already packed together, it would be better to carefully prick them out into cell trays or trays of compost. You can always keep the surplus in the pot as a back up, thinning them out a bit, and see how they get on, but they are likely to become very drawn by the over-crowding.

 Many seeds do well when sown fresh in late summer and autumn. If they germinate early, they can be pricked out. Late germinatiion can be thinned and left to prickout later and many do not sprout in autumn but do so in spring. 

FacebookTwitterWhatsApp