"Eur Ing John Rye" wrote in message
...

since worked out the answer "No Frosts"

Yes, we seldom see frost nowadays thanks to El Nino. We even get Summer like
conditions during Winter. 65F on occasion. And the temperature never goes
below zero (32F?).

(a) Seed must be fresh. They say that with fresh seed you MAY get
germination
without a Winters cold.
This implies the approach that I would use ie sow the seed in Autumn in a
Cold Frame and hope for germination in the Spring. Your seed will be fresh
enough, but your winter may not be cold enough.
(b) Talking about the showy varieties they talk about sowing August to
October (UK time) at 50 degrees Fahrenheit 10 degrees Cel, and say that 60
degrees Fahrenheit 15 Cel is too hot.

Hmm... I planted the seeds in May, our Autumn here. The temp are around 18 -
12 C. (around 60F?). Not cold by English standards and positively warm
compared to Scotland.

What I'll do this time is to keep the seeds in the bottom drawer of my
fridge, then soak them in water before sowing. I'l try to plant them in the
optimum conditions places: moist, well drained areas.

Our weather conditions here are quite nutty though. Last Saturday the temp
dropped to around 57F at night. Its 77F now.