12 BEST Seeds To Winter Sow | Cold Stratification For Stronger Perennials I Perennial Garden

When it comes to winter sowing and cold stratification, knowing which seeds benefit from it isn't always the easiest thing to figure out. So today we thought we would show you a few of our favorites that we winter sow every year that benefit and need cold stratification. Yes, and the first one we're going to show you is this wonderful called Liatris. And as you can see here, I have a bunch inside and coffee filters to dry, but here's some leftovers. So really as the brown down there is the seed, and then it's almost like, you know, they really fly there. It's like a little helicopter. So a bunch of these, they will turn to new little baby Liatris. And the thing with this one needs around two to four weeks of cold stratification, these changing temperatures. So what we do, we collect them and then I sowed them here. You could do it January, February. More important is that it gets this warmer, cooler temperatures. And then we add them in pots inside the greenhouse. And then nature will do the rest. We just spray a little bit, mist it with some water on the top. And then around March, they will start to germinate. And this is really a great, now it looks a little bit boring, but you can get it in like whites and purples. And the insects really like it. Turns like the height is around of the flower. When it comes up, you can see here a good height here around 70, 80 centimeters. Loves full sun. It doesn't really take much, just normal soil to a little bit sandy. It really, yeah, drought tolerant, really stands a long time. Has these spiky foliage. So it's not only for the flower we have it. It's also the foliage that really looks like almost from another planet. So it's really doing well here. Flowers around June, July, all the way also into August, depending on if it gets that full sun. So that one is really doing, yeah, easy. When you sow it, one of our favorites in the garden. Here's one of our, or my, I should say, favorites. It is Stjerneskæm or Astrantia. We say Stjerneskæm in Danish. It's such a pretty name. But it's really, here you can see a bunch. This is the white variety. See if I can show you all the, we have a bunch of seeds here. So they're a little bit like long, little, yeah, sorry I said before, but fat seeds, really big ones. And here we have a bunch. And this one needs also cold stratification. Needs around four weeks. So that takes a little bit more time to get it to germinate. But successfully over the years, we have had this one. Comes in white. We have it in a really red, really burned red almost. Super pretty one as well. Around 60 to 80 centimeters high. Flowers also in late summer. And we have it full sun here, but you can also have it half shade also. Okay, and great in bouquets and flowers for a very long time. It's also great at self-sowing outside, like around the mother plant. So do be careful in the spring when you start to pick up weeds, because when it has that second set of leaves, it really looks like the mother plant. And it's a shame to take them away, because you could easily, when it has that second set of leaves, and looks like astrantia, then dig it up and then plant it somewhere else. And then it will really thrive other places in the garden too. So do be careful when you do that. But those also we pop in the greenhouse in pots. And then I actually just have like these kind of deeper pots here. And I'm not putting one seed at a time. It can easily be like I sometimes just put a handful in. A lot of these perennials, they don't mind being close together. So it doesn't have to be like one, one, one. Because imagine out in the garden, Mother Nature is also just... The mother plant just throws the seeds randomly and the bunch will be... So the ground is also covered really easily with a bunch of them. It's not one, one, one. So they don't hurt from that. And then from this one, when it has the second three set of leaves, I can just put it out. So definitely also one of our favorites, this one. So I left some of these purposelhead or echinacea out. I didn't collect all of them, because also some of the birds have been really pecking and using some of the seeds. I'll try and see if I can use this one. It's quite pretty, like a porcupine almost. And the seeds are that little big one underneath there. It's a good idea to get them in and dry a bit, because if it's really wet and rainy, they start to really get moldy and then you can't use them. So there's a balance when to pick them. So I'll leave some and pick some. But it's that little really thick one in the bottom there. And I don't separate it from the other bits. I just take them and sprinkle in a pot. And they are also really great at growing from seeds, but also need that stratification time. It's four weeks. So I've done it in January and then it's around March. You can also do it in February, but around March they will start to germinate. And they are also really pretty. You can get them in so many different colors from white. These ones are like pinkish. This is a pink patch. You can get orange, so many different. There's an ocean of colors in these ones. The bees and other insects really love these ones, even though you would think they are so spiky. And it's great for late. It's like July all the way to September, October here in the garden. And they have a great height also. So it's in the middle of this, the middle flower bed, around 80 to 100 centimeters tall. And they also like to be in here. It's really like a rich soil, but also if you mix some sand in when you plant them and they don't like to be covered by other plants. So do make space for it. Loves full sun. They don't like to have the roots in, if you have like a really wet garden, add some gravel or, as I said, some sand. And then they really thrive and do come back every year. And they are just really, you have a bunch of like maybe 500 new baby Echinacea here. Exactly. And look, once all the seeds are gone, can you point to one of those? Isn't that funny? This is a funny one in Danish. It's called... Brannende Kærlighed. Which means burning love. That's why I put it like a brannende in the heart, because it's way too long to write on the label here. And nothing much going on here. But this one needs, only compared to some of the other ones, two weeks to germinate. And that's really a pretty one too. Around 80, 90 centimeters tall out in the garden. And has not for everybody's liking, but a really burning red flower. Really like a bouquet on the top. Really nice. Folies is also, the stems are really up straight. So it's great in a big group to have that. But here it's really, I love having that in the garden. Loves normal soil to a little sandy soil is fine. Full sun and also flowers there in July, depending on if you have it in full sun. And it's also just beautiful. You can get it in, as I said, the red one. You can also get pinks and whites. So there's different ranges of color for this one as well. But needs some changing temperatures. And of course, nothing happening now. It looks a bit boring, but I'll promise it will come. The love is on the way. So another one here is verbena. That's also, I have a trace of that one. Looks like you made a casserole. I know, but it's actually, because these ones compared to some of the other ones, I actually forgot to say the ones we showed just now. When there's really like a thick seed, my general thumb of rule is like, if it's a thick seed, you cover it with some soil. If it's very thin, like almost like poppy seeds, they need light to germinate. So that's really important. So these ones I just sprinkle on top and also some flower bits, it doesn't matter. But they're like really small, almost like a poppy seed. So of course they need light to germinate. And they need a good four weeks of cold certification to have a successful germination. And also these ones, people say, why do you sow these? Because the mother plant will throw it everywhere. We have it in the path, but it's really great at self-sowing and loves sandy soil. So you could also put that, but it's really easy to grow. It gets really tall. It's one of my also super favorites in the garden. It grows to like up to 150, so one and a half meters tall, and it loves the full sun and sandy. Here it's actually very rich, but in the back we have some more gravel, bricks and stuff from when they built the wall, I think. So it really thrives there. It isn't actually in our climate a perennial, it's actually like a summer flower. But because we have really mild winters, they mostly, I don't cut them back before the spring, but mostly the mother plant comes back and also because it produces a bunch of babies. So she doesn't care if she comes back, but she has a lot of offspring that will for sure come. So these ones are doing really well, and we have really tall ones. We also have, this one says we have a normal verbena that's really born in the ice. It's a very tall one, like everybody knows, but then we have one with dark foliage, and that's actually, I would say, a cousin to the giant verbena, but this one is spanned and has dark, almost black foliage, and it's very low. It's great for pots, but also close to the border. So that one, for sure, we have to sow a bunch of. So these ones are also coming around March. They will start to germinate. And here, while it's up here, I need to, when it's on the surface, once a week, I go and look. Be careful not to take a watering can and just over water, because you will drown the small seedlings. So what I do, I just mist, I spray really gently. I look if the surface is dry looking, I give a little spray, but rather hold back with the water. And of course, all the pots and all the trays I use, always remember drainage holes. Otherwise, you'll just drown them and it will be like a big pool. Okay, can you see it? I can. Right there, there's a little thing growing. You think, okay, this is actually, and it says purple lupine. This one, I have to say, it doesn't need cold certification, but I sow it also here, winter sow, because I always put the date on the back. This is actually just five days ago and it's already starting to germinate. So lupines are really great at winter sowing because then it also, the great thing about winter sowing is that you harden the plants instead of you, if you have, for example, summer flowers, you pre-sow inside, you have to take them in and out, in and out so they get hardened and get used to being acclimatized. So they used to get to this nature. I didn't even know how to explain it. Anyway, but it's- They get used to. Why was that so hard to say? I don't know. But so they get used to the different temperatures. And here, nature does it all. So some days it's really cool. Some days it's getting warmer. And so when they come up and they have the second leaves, I can just pop it out. And they have these really wide, thick pots here. So they- Because they get long roots, these lupines. And great thing about this, it's great for the cottage garden we have here. Guess around, depending on what kind you have, 80 to 90 centimeters tall flowers, June to July. And then we snip off the flowers when they're finished. That long tower. And then you're really lucky to- Normally you will get a second flowering, which is not so rich as the first one. But that's really great. And you can get- This one is purple. The thing is about a lot of these perennials that you sow from seeds, they cross-pollinate and you'll get a different color. But I think that's just a great surprise. Just like a candy store. Sometimes you never know what you get. The flavor or the taste. So the same with plants. But if you go in a candy store, you know what you're- No, but a chocolate. That's the thing. A box of chocolates. Oh, you're forced. Anyway, okay. Back to plants. But this one is really great. And you can get them, as I said, in purples, whites, yellows. All colors are welcome here. And a lot of them are not invasive. I know some are really afraid of having lupins. But the thing is, a lot of these ones are not self-sowing. And I always remove the- Of course, I keep some that mature into seeds. But I snip it off. And then they don't sow everywhere. I don't have them in the garden. Because I plant really closely. So I don't have an issue with that. But they are really great. And we do have them also because the foliage is really great. They love full sun. And they're not so picky about the soil as well. And I just- Yeah, I had to mention this one. Even though it does need cold soil. So here's a really tall one. And a lot of people have this one. Because it's great for pollinators. And it flowers really late. It's a Jordetrøst or Joe Pie weed. And look at these ones. Luckily, I collected some. Because birds have just been pecking them as well. They're really here. Also sprinkled some around. But I always put some in pots as well. Maybe some around. And see, I need to cover them with dirt afterwards. But this one is really great. Because it has a great height to this. You can also get really low varieties. This one can get up to- So that's actually 182. And this one needs two to four weeks of cold stratification. And it comes in this like- Jordetrøst also have one in white. But this one is like in a purple kind. And really not picky on the soil where it sits. But it's really great. It loves full sun. And they are really great to also sow from seeds. So you can get really a big area with them. Because they really, as you can see the stems. Even in storm and wind. It's really stunning. I want to have a bunch more of that one. It is very pretty. Yeah. I need to sow more of those. So here we have a really great one. That's also great for the insects. And it's called red valerian. Sporbalren in Danish. And also already now shooting from the bottom here. This is the old stems. I collected a bunch of seeds. And these actually need the seeds three to four weeks of cold stratification. To germinate. It's really a great perennial. You can get them. I have them in reds. But also the white one really attracts a variety of different insects. Loves the full sun. And gets around. Depending if it gets the full sun. 70 centimeters tall. Flowers around June to August. And if you trim it down you can also get a second flowering. Here in the rich soil. But also a little bit sandy. It's also okay. And it's really great here. And also drought tolerant. So great when you live in a dry place. Which is not us. No, sometimes. But it works even here in a very, very wet climate. So here we have stormhat or monkshood. This is actually... First thing I have to say about this one. This is poisonous. We have in the world a lot of poisonous perennials. So you do have to be careful and read up on that. And I have this one in the back of the garden. I always use gloves when I have it. Because it's a really poisonous one. But it's super pretty. Looks like the dilphilum a bit. But the great thing about this one. It needs around also a good four weeks of cold solidification. But it's one of those perennials that really flower very, very late. So it flowers September all the way until the frost comes here. And it's really upright now. It starts to fall. But they will also grow from the bottom. These seeds are a little bit thick. So I also cover them with the soil here. And you can get them. I have them in a cloudy. It's white and blue. And this one is the traditional really dark blue. Really pretty. And the foliage is nice as well. And I have them in a white. So it can get around this 150 centimeters tall. Loves the full sun. And eventually it has kind of like a bulb or corn. And then it was actually just a little clump I got from the neighbor here. That was gifted. And it really grew over the years. But it's also fun to collect them and see them grow from a little seed. And then also turn into a bigger plant. So this one is really great for this insect that's still here in the late autumn actually. You see a lot of bees flying in and out of these ones. Yeah. And you really get that electric blue color right at the end of summer when we need it most. Where there's not a lot of color. So this one is really a great perennial as well. Keep in mind that this isn't the all-inclusive. Only these plants need cold stratification and benefit from the changing temperatures. But these are, yeah, our favorites. And ones we really work on every year. The list is very long. I could keep on for days to tell you. I think we all know. Right. But here I have a red and yellow Agalai here. This one, notice it's growing now. But I actually just toss some seeds in very late autumn. They can be autumn sowed or like here winter sowed. And they like to have a one to two weeks cold stratification. And these are coming along really nicely. You can really see when they have the second set of leaves that now just looks like a weed. But it is. I promise. Agalai. And they're really doing well out here. And they flower really nicely. Normally these ones, I won't get a flower this year. But then it's, it flowers normally on the second year. Otherwise, you really, it's good to do it late autumn if you expect to have right that next year. But if you do it every year, then you will always have, because it can be a short lived perennial, this Agalai here. But the foliage is also really nice. And they flower early, May to June. So you really, but we also look into the plants we have here and we winter sow is look into, OK, when do I need, when is my garden really boring looking? I want something for early spring, summer and late, like in the autumn too. So you have flower throughout the whole seasons. So this one is really nice. And you can get some really tall ones, 90, some are just 50 centimeters tall. And you can get purple, blues, whites, two colored, double flowered. Yeah, there are unlimited color choice with these. So those are really nice. Likes full sun to have like semi shade. And I have some at the border, but also just for the foliage. I also like perennials, not only for the flower, but dark foliage. And also these ones that really look pretty when the rain drops on really pivot this one too. So here we have a really one of my big favorites is called Heliopsis. And I don't know if there's any seeds left. I've already sown some. See if I can get some out. Oh, down here. There's some. See these really dark ones. These are easy to see. And they also I sow them always in trays because this is a must to have more. This is, of course, a perennial. It comes back every year, but they need around three to four weeks of cold certification. And look at the height. And they don't fall over even now. Even in the wind. This one. This is really nice. And it's not staked. This is one that doesn't even require staking for us. It's really strong. It's really a nice one. And what it has, it almost looks like a blanket flower. It has this like red and yellow flower here. And what's great about this one is also we have them just in a clear yellow with green foliage. But this one has dark foliage. So it really stands out in the garden. So it's really a nice one. Really tall. Flowers really late. Actually, like August, September and all the way until the frost. And it's really nice and loves the full sun and also attracts insects. But I have it also because the flower is great, but also that dark foliage. So these also I start to sow in pots. And also I take like this whole hand can be in a bigger pot. It doesn't matter. They come together and they will start to germinate then around March. And then I can plant them out and have an even bigger area with these really great ones. So this one is a little bit different than the others. Looks like poppies I bought for baking. But it's actually poppies out for the garden. And it's not only perennials. We're not making lemon poppy seed muffins today. I'm not making any cakes with poppies in. But it's good though. Anyway, but these ones, it's not only perennials we have in the garden. It's really great to have also annuals that, of course, only flower this one season. But they give a lot of pop of color when some of the perennials are finished. So here's some different kind of. I have red ones, pinks, yellows. Really get a different of these poppies. And these need, compared to the other ones I saw in the greenhouse, where they're a bit more protected, I just directly sow. Because these like to have around three to four weeks of cold certification. So I do that also now. And these ones I just sprinkle in an area. You can also add them. They're very thin. So you actually don't have to cover them with soil. But the minuses, of course, if you have a bunch of birds or a cat, you could cover them a tiny, tiny bit. But do put a little label on maybe in the area. Because when you start, imagine, in a month or so, when you start to weed, I promise you, you'll forget where you put it. So put a little label here. So you're careful when you don't weed. Because compared to other perennials, poppies, they don't really like to get the roots disturbed. And so it's better putting those out. I've tried putting in pots and it doesn't. Actually, once I directly sow, do much better. So those I'll just leave out here. And they will also flower around May, June, depending on where you put it. This is full sun. And they'll just really do well here in between the perennials. So there you go. That was some of our favorite perennials that we love to winter sow and also need that cold certification. Exactly. So let us know in the comments what you like to sow here in the winter. And if you have any questions, be sure to let us know that too. Otherwise, thanks so much for watching. Thank you. Moin!