As someone who has not only run out of seedling trays but room to put seedling trays, I need an alternative. I have several packs of Canterbury bells seeds that I would love to bloom this year. I know in order for that to happen, I have to plant them early. And I do have some already started inside, but I haven’t ever read about anyone seeding them early outside and then covering them during frost nights. I don’t see why that would not work. I’m in zone 7a, and I’m sure we will get a few more nights/wks of freezing but as long as I keep them covered then, I don’t see why they shouldn’t grow. After all if they were reseeding themselves from last year they would have to be sitting out there through this warm spring and then our occasional nights of freezing. I think this should work for many flowers, but no one ever says this is an option on planting guides. Am I missing an obvious problem? In the past I have always waited till the last frost to put things out. Does anyone have experience with this? Thank you!
Sewing Canterbury Bells outside early spring...hear me out
- Thread starter BoPeep75
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Many perennials can be seeded any time during the winter if they are hardy in your area. Some even do better. My Canterbury bells, Campanella, self seed freely in my yard. You could set covered seed trays outside in a protected area to speed germination and to fill in bare spots where desired later. This makes for more robust seedlings in my opinion. I prefer this when introducing new varieties and planting out my garden, so I can better monitor growth and not mistakenly weed seedlings. Look up winter sowing of perennials for more in-depth information. Happy gardening 
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