annuals that overwinter in Wisconsin
 

I would like to plant some annuals that will reseed themselves. That
sounds okay; it's how flowers reproduce naturally. BUT I live in Zone
4, so some seeds will not survive the winter.

What about marigolds? lobelia? Will these seeds survive
temps below zero F?

I'm looking for something that will be a ground cover. There are plenty
of leggy or weedy-looking wildflowers; let's try for something full and low.

Thank you,

Ted Shoemaker

"Ted Shoemaker" wrote in message
...
I would like to plant some annuals that will reseed themselves. That
sounds okay; it's how flowers reproduce naturally. BUT I live in Zone
4, so some seeds will not survive the winter.

What about marigolds? lobelia? Will these seeds survive
temps below zero F?

I'm looking for something that will be a ground cover. There are plenty
of leggy or weedy-looking wildflowers; let's try for something full and
low.


I have had impatiens, coleus, alyssum, and torenia reseed. Cleome also is a
reliable self-sower but it is tall - not anything close to being a ground
cover. I have never had marigold or lobelia return in subsequent years.
The complication in this case is that you want a ground cover. I read that
as a dense, continuous carpet of vegetation. Even when things self-sow,
they don't generally do so in a consistent manner. You can get a clump here
and a few plants there. Sometimes they come up places you don't want them.
They usually appear late and sometimes they just don't return. I would say
that off all the plants I can think of, alyssum fits your requirement the
best. It is very reliable, forms a dense carpet, and tends to come back
close to the original plant's location. I don't know about how hearty the
seeds are in zone 4, but you could always just get a few packets of seed and
direct sow them yourself.

Cleome, marigold, pansy, datura, snapdragon, petunia & moss rose to
name a few. A few snapdragons in well protected areas will survive the
winter. I live in IA Zone 5 but we had some -5 to -10 weather this last
winter. In some of the milder winters I have had whole beds of
snapdragons survive.

Marv-Montezuma, IA
http://community.webshots.com/user/vmwood

VMWOOD wrote:
Cleome, marigold, pansy, datura, snapdragon, petunia & moss rose to
name a few. A few snapdragons in well protected areas will survive the
winter. I live in IA Zone 5 but we had some -5 to -10 weather this last
winter. In some of the milder winters I have had whole beds of
snapdragons survive.

Marv-Montezuma, IA
http://community.webshots.com/user/vmwood


There was a guy who for years lived in Wisconsin on the Wisconsin-Illinois
border. One day a survey crew came by, and discovered that his property was
actually in Illinois. When interviewed by a TV station, he was asked what he
thought of the situation. He replied: "Thank goodness I won't have to live
through another hard Wisconsin winter!"

But seriously, when I lived in Wisconsin the only annual that my parents had
that over-wintered, and self-seeded was the moss rose. And that's why I was
so surprised that I can't get them to do the same now that I'm in zone 8 in
Oregon. I never saw any other annuals come back, but then again, my parents
weren't very adventurous in the gardening arena. They viewed the moss roses
as an invasive weed, and eventually widened the driveway, paving over their
patch. (Five months of the year that part of the driveway was still buried
under snow pushed off the rest of the driveway, so they didn't gain all that
much by doing so.)

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
What's on TV? See the new fall network schedules online:
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/tele.../fall2005.html

alyssum for sure, california poppies, shirley poppies, calendula, cosmos
(buy the dwarf varieties, like the sonata strain - the self-sowed seedlings
also grow smaller than the regular plants, like sensation mixes). For some
people nicotiana will self-sow. lavatera will often self-sow. Linaria will
self-sow in the right circumstances - and portulaca.
"Ted Shoemaker" wrote in message
...
I would like to plant some annuals that will reseed themselves. That
sounds okay; it's how flowers reproduce naturally. BUT I live in Zone 4,
so some seeds will not survive the winter.

What about marigolds? lobelia? Will these seeds survive
temps below zero F?

I'm looking for something that will be a ground cover. There are plenty
of leggy or weedy-looking wildflowers; let's try for something full and
low.

Thank you,

Ted Shoemaker

Scotch Moss or Irish Moss is excellent ground cover. Scotch moss takes
a better winter than Irish Moss. Have some out front and we get minus
45F in the January parts of every winter here in Canada - this is cold
winter weather is only 7 years new to me as I'm an American born and
raised in Washington on the West coast.....ha.
Lindakay

Ted Shoemaker said:

I would like to plant some annuals that will reseed themselves. That
sounds okay; it's how flowers reproduce naturally. BUT I live in Zone
4, so some seeds will not survive the winter.

What about marigolds? lobelia? Will these seeds survive
temps below zero F?

I'm looking for something that will be a ground cover. There are plenty
of leggy or weedy-looking wildflowers; let's try for something full and low.

I have a short variety of Nigella (Love in a Mist) that has been a very
reliable reseeder. Bonus points for an easily recognizable seedlings!
I think it was 'Dwarf Moody Blue' but it was years ago that I planted
it, so I'm not 100% sure on the variety.

I used to have dwarf annual candytuft (Iberis umbellata) reseeding in
one garden, until it got too shady for it to bloom reliably. Probably
'Fairy' mix.

California poppies come back reliably for me.

Sweet alyssum reseeded for me, but rapidly reverted to something
wild-looking (not showy at all).
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

Warren wrote:

There was a guy who for years lived in Wisconsin on the Wisconsin-Illinois
border. One day a survey crew came by, and discovered that his property was
actually in Illinois. When interviewed by a TV station, he was asked what he
thought of the situation. He replied: "Thank goodness I won't have to live
through another hard Wisconsin winter!"

You know what they say about winter in Wisconsin . . . .
.. . . . it's the best 8 months of the year!

Ted Shoemaker