Hardy annuals?

[Snadger]

As hardy annuals are 'hardy' whats to stop you sowing them now in a greenhouse for planting out later? Cold can affect veggies and make them run to seed, but after all, thats what you are trying to promote with annual flowers aren't you?
I have some packets that didn't get sown last year and I will certainly be giving it a try!
I'll start them on the window sill then move em to the greenhouse. Sunflowers are annuals and I would imagine by sowing earlier they may grow taller!

[Burnzie]

Hi Snadger, I forgot to autumn sow any sweet peas, so am hoping by sowing a batch this weekend undercover they will catch up quickly when spring arrives.

I'm sure you're right what you say about starting them early that they may grow bigger, I guess its just a matter of keeping them going and preventing any shocks to their system.

regards

Burnzie

[Two_Sheds]

I don't class sunflower as a hardy annual, myself.

On the plot, I have limnanthes, calendula, cornflower and nemophila all happily self-seeding. They appear in spring (a few in autumn and survive the winter).

However sunflowers never survive the winter, and self-sown seedlings don't appear much before May.

[piskieinboots]

I sowed a fair amount of HAs in late November in the greenhouse, they are looking really strong and healthy and now in need of potting on.

They appear to have come through the recent freezing conditions (even with a little heat!) ok.

[Snadger]

I don't class sunflower as a hardy annual, myself.

On the plot, I have limnanthes, calendula, cornflower and nemophila all happily self-seeding. They appear in spring (a few in autumn and survive the winter).

However sunflowers never survive the winter, and self-sown seedlings don't appear much before May.

As has been mentioned before.......once you have limanthes, you ALLWAYS have limanthes!
I recently brought some chrysanthemums in that were in pots, to start a few cuttings.
The pots had a thick layer of snow on them and lo and behold, now the snow has melted they are thickly undersown with self sown limanthus.

On the sunflower front, they are sold as hardy annuals.

I pressume the differnece between hardy annuals and half hardy annuals is that they can stand a touch of frost. I don't think it has much to do with the germination temperatures though?

Anyway, the weekend will be devoted to sowing all the HA seeds I have left from last year!

[Florence Fennel]

Think I'll give this a try too. I was surprised at how well the companion planting worked last time, even though I was a bit late getting the seed in, so this will prompt me to plant HAs at the same time as my veg plugs.

[kentvegplot]

Hardy annuals means that the seeds will survive over the winter, although the plants won't. It would be hard to germinate seeds now outside, simply because most things won't grow at below 5 degrees, but if you start them out under cover, they should be fine. My cerinthe collapsed under the snow and I took the opportunity to pull them up in the first thaw, but I'm sure lots of seeds will be germinating in the next few weeks, just as soon as it warms up.