"Chris Owens" wrote in message
...
Shell91 wrote:

I have started some seeds, red sunflowers, which I got from my aunt and
morning glories along with various fruit seeds (tangelo, nectarine,
peach,
and pluot, and orange I think) I live in zone 9 and it's a long way
from
getting cold here. Has anyone ever started seeds in the fall and kept
them
going through the winter so they were ready to plant in the spring? I
plan
on keeping them in the garage until it gets cold, then bring them
inside. I
also plan to start some coleus seeds the same way.
Any advice and help is welcome
Shell

Shell, sunflowers and coleus are an annuals . . . now, it might
be warm enough in your zone that they'll grow all winter; but,
once they bloom, they're done.

I knew this about the sunflowers and coleus, I'm hoping they will grow
during the fall and what passes for winter here and I'll have nice plants
early in the spring.

Some morning glories are annuals,
some are not. The annual ones will do just like the sunflowers;
the pernnial ones aren't going to be happy with the light levels
in an house.

The morning glories are kind of an experiment. I got the seeds from a free
offer online so there are several different species. Several have already
sprouted.

The fruit seeds should be OK if you can give the
plants lots of sun . . . however, you need to be aware that the
seed of a fruit will not necessarily -- indeed, usually does not
-- match the parent. In addition, many citrus have sterile
seeds. Finally, fruit trees can take up to ten years to become
productive when grown from seed.

The fruit trees are for my mom, just to see if we can get them to grow. I
did not know that many citrus have sterile seeds. I don't really expect
fruit from these trees

Typically, I recommend that, unless you have a true greenhouse,
you not try to get into the project of moving plants in and out
of the house. Most plants that do well outdoors don't do well in
an house . . . it's too dry and dark.

If you want to plant seeds for the following year, the two schema
normally followed are to:

1. Plant out perennial [and very cold hardy annual] seed in the
fall or late winter. It will start growing as soon as conditions
are OK in the spring.

2. Start annual seed in flats 6-12 weeks before you plan on
planting it out. This generally requires a dedicated
growing-space with appropriate lighting, heat, and air
circulation.

Chris Owens


Thanks for the advice on seeds. I think I'll toss the rest of the morning
glory seeds out by the back fence and just see what happens

Shell