Winter Sowing (USDA definition): A propagation method used throughout the winter where temperate climate seeds are sown into vented containers and placed outdoors to foster naturally timed, high percentage germination of climate-tolerant seedlings.
I had collected quite a few native seeds last fall and in previous years. In the past, I've mostly tried cold/moist stratification in the refrigerator, but I've not had the best of luck with that. So after my little sister sent me a link to a video about winter sowing, I decided to try that to see if I could have better luck getting my native seeds to germinate.
While I didn't make a list of the things I planted, I know there were some Pale Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida) seeds I collected in eastern Johnson County, AR; Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum) seeds I purchased from Sow True Seed, in Asheville, NC; and Possumhaw (Ilex decidua) seeds I collected in the east fence of the Carey field. I forget what else.
I did put labels inside the jugs - I just forgot to make a list to refer back to. Bad winter sower...bad winter sower.
Anyway, I planted these things on Christmas Eve and set them out on the well house.
Here's how they looked on December 24.
And here's how the jugs looked yesterday morning!
This was unusual for us. Most winters we don't see much more than an inch or two of snow, but all week the weather forecast was calling for snow to move up from Texas. As the week went by, the snowfall amounts kept going up, and I guess when all was said and done, we were among the places that had the highest snowfall totals.
It started snowing around 2 pm on Thursday (January 9) and by 3:06 pm, we already had a pretty good coating on the ground.
By 4:16 pm, the grass was completely covered.
And when we got up the next morning, Friday, January 10, it was still snowing. What a sight to see!
Poor ol' Charlie with his sore foot...he just hung out by the hay ring and toughed it out. What else could he do?
I couldn't find my ruler, so I just measured with a paint stir stick. I stuck it in the snow and made a little mark where the snow came up to, then measured how far the mark came to with a tape measure.
It measured 9.5" (my little sister measured 10" at her house).
That night, we had freezing fog. The next morning (today), every single twig was coated with tiny needles of ice.
By mid-morning, the fog burned away and we were treated to a dazzling blue sky. The frost had melted, and most of the snow was gone from the tree limbs. But it was still very beautiful outside.
Winter sowing, indeed!!!!