On Tue, 22 Jul 2014 04:03:35 -0700 (PDT), mkr5000
wrote:

In the zone 5 when a plant goes to seed in late summer or fall I need to know how best to get more plants to germinate from the seed.

Take coneflower for instance.

I would think it's best to gather the seeds (before the birds), store them over the winter and then spread the seed in the early Spring?

I've always been confused a bit about the process -- certainly seeds that fall to the ground in fall become useless because of the snow?, so it's really a matter of what seeds remain intact and dry enough to germinate in the Spring, if left on the plant? I guess what I'm trying to ask is that Spring planting beats Fall planting any day for areas that have cold winters? or not?

I'll bet the real answer is "maybe and sometimes" together. It will
always depend a lot on the species and cultivar involved.

?-)