GQT!

Thanks to the lovely people of the Balsall Common Horticultural Society I was able to put a question to the Gardeners Question Time panel for the show broadcast on Radio 4 on 23rd February. That was fun! Having sown lots of seeds for hardy perennials such as Echinops, Echinacea and Monarda last Autumn I was curious to know if they thought doing this was an advantage over waiting until the following Spring. As James Wong pointed out Spring is a crazy busy time for sowing seeds, so getting ahead with those that will come through the Winter by sowing in Autumn definitely seems helpful. Though I was concerned the young seedlings have been struggling through the Winter cold (protected from the wet at least in the cold frame) they are now showing more encouraging signs of growth as Christine Walkden suggested they would. Hopefully she'll be right in saying they will be tougher plants as a result too. If you want to grow hardy perennials from seed which will flower this year now is still a great time. Seeds need water, oxygen and the right temperature to germinate. Controlling the first two is pretty straight forward - just don't over-water, they really don't need much. I recommend using an adjustable heat mat or heated propagator so you can give individual seed types the right temperature they need to promote speedy germination. This information is always printed on the packet. Good luck, if all goes well you'll have many plants for a fraction of the price of those potted-up for you in garden centres!