OL, you have permission to kick my ar*e if you already know this, but sweet Williams are biennials ie sow the seed this year and they will flower next year.
In fact it is getting a tad late to sow the seed now......July is really stretching a bit to ensure flowers for next year.
I sow the seed in a nursery bed in the open anytime from March to early summer, then transplant the young plants into the open from around now to September. Next spring lift the plants & plant them where they are to flower......much the as for wallflowers btw.
Don't be too fussy with them....I like to think of them as a pretty weed.
PS. Be prepared for them to self-seed and become a nuisance.
Thank you David and I wouldn't dream of kicking your a***, you are far more knowledgeable than me. However, yes I did know they were a biennial which is why I bought them several weeks ago to sow and obviously got severely sidetracked. I'm hoping to sow them tomorrow,mi presume the worse that can happen is that they will flower a year later?
Philippa, I don't know the proper name sorry but I do know they aren't annuals as I purposely bought seeds that were biennials/perennials at the time.
I still say there's no harm in sowing right now - seedpackets are notoriously conservative in their advice - lets face it, the sweet williams that flowered this year have just dropped their seed into the ground and that is going to grow without any help from me!
Most seeds will keep for several years, though germination rates diminish as the years go by, and parsnips - well they have to be grown from fresh seed.
I've checked the packet (Mr Fothergills) and it doesn't have a 'proper' name, just says sweet rocket. Also, rather ironically, I forgot I had forget me nots too!!
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OL, you have permission to kick my ar*e if you already know this, but sweet Williams are biennials ie sow the seed this year and they will flower next year.
In fact it is getting a tad late to sow the seed now......July is really stretching a bit to ensure flowers for next year.
I sow the seed in a nursery bed in the open anytime from March to early summer, then transplant the young plants into the open from around now to September. Next spring lift the plants & plant them where they are to flower......much the as for wallflowers btw.
Don't be too fussy with them....I like to think of them as a pretty weed.
PS. Be prepared for them to self-seed and become a nuisance.
Thank you David and I wouldn't dream of kicking your a***, you are far more knowledgeable than me. However, yes I did know they were a biennial which is why I bought them several weeks ago to sow and obviously got severely sidetracked. I'm hoping to sow them tomorrow,mi presume the worse that can happen is that they will flower a year later?
Philippa, I don't know the proper name sorry but I do know they aren't annuals as I purposely bought seeds that were biennials/perennials at the time.
I've had to do a separate post as my iPad stopped me typing!!!
I actually bought the sweet rocket because I read that it had a lovely scent in the evening, I think I read it in GW magazine
I still say there's no harm in sowing right now - seedpackets are notoriously conservative in their advice - lets face it, the sweet williams that flowered this year have just dropped their seed into the ground and that is going to grow without any help from me!
Most seeds will keep for several years, though germination rates diminish as the years go by, and parsnips - well they have to be grown from fresh seed.
I think they might have been quoting me!
It has a fabulous scent, just as it's turning dusk - it's one of my absolute favourites 
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I've checked the packet (Mr Fothergills) and it doesn't have a 'proper' name, just says sweet rocket. Also, rather ironically, I forgot I had forget me nots too!!