Growing From Seed

francesmckeon21 · October 2022

Hello, I am new to gardening and I'm am so delighted to have found you all 😁 I have sown Achillea Millefolium seeds a few days ago. My question is, once they germinate can I put them in an unheated plastic greenhouse through winter? I live in Glasgow.
Many thanks
Frances

punkdoc · October 2022

Don’t want to sound negative, but it is an odd time of year to be starting seeds off. Once germinated, they might be ok in your g/h.

Posy · October 2022

Achillea ar great self seeders down here in the south. It's worth a try.

bédé · October 2022

If you have any seed left, sew them in the spring. Ask your question again if any of the first batch germinate.

Fairygirl · October 2022

Where do you have them just now @francesmckeon21? As @punkdoc says, it's late to sow seed here. Better to have waited until later spring.

The plastic greenhouses are pretty useless unfortunately - they'll only keep the rain/snow off plants, and need tied to a wall/fence to stop them disappearing. They don't provide any warmth at this time of year. They're fine for small plants [already growing] that just need that basic protection.

If they germinate, and grow at all, they'll probably need to stay in a cool room indoors to make it through winter as it would be tricky to get them acclimatised to go in a sheltered spot outside. They would need to be at the stage of pricked out, potted individually, and growing well to do that too

AnniD · October 2022

Hello Frances,
It's very late in the year to be sowing Achillea, but you may find that if this mild weather (even in Scotland) continues you may well get some to germinate.
If that happens, l would personally keep them indoors, maybe in an unheated room or porch if you have one. They are classed as hardy perennial (l believe), but young seedlings will struggle at this time of year. Lower light levels as well as cold weather play a part.

A lot also depends on your conditions, if you have a very sheltered garden and can add some fleece in extremely cold spells they might make it.
Personally l would see what happens, but don't expect too much, and plan to sow again in the Spring (and go by your weather conditions, not necessarily the dates shown on the seed packet ).

Welcome to the forum

francesmckeon21 · October 2022

Thanks to everyone for their comments. To be honest I'm a bit bamboozled; the seed packet states the seeds can be sown in autumn or spring. I will keep the germinating seeds indoors until the temperature rises as you advised. Thank you for clearing away some of my brain-fog 😁

Fairygirl · October 2022

I've just been replying to someone on another thread @francesmckeon21, on the same subject. https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1069430/autumn-sowing-advice#latest
It can be very misleading if you follow the info on seed packets because it doesn't take the variations in climate and location around the country into consideration.

francesmckeon21 · October 2022

Thank you @fairygirl. This is good to know. I was planning on sowing sweet peas this week but I'll put my brakes on now. You have been so helpful and I appreciate you taking the time to help a novice as I very much am.

Fairygirl · October 2022

No problem @francesmckeon21. We were all beginners at one time, and we're all still learning.

This forum would have been very helpful if it had existed when I started gardening!
If you have plenty of sweet pea seeds, it can be worth trying a few anyway, just to see what happens. Unfortunately, if they're outdoors, you can get mice eating the seed though.
Experiment a bit though - germinate inside, and then see if you can gradually get them outside. It's been very, very mild here, so you never know.

francesmckeon21 · October 2022

Thank you, I'll do just that!

Growing From Seed

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