Sowing in May?

Hi propagation experts!

My greenhouse has some space currently, as two of my seed attempts failed, so I have space to sow two new things.

I am hoping to grow my own flowers from seed for this year, and have done well with other things I have sowed. I have perennial beds with room for annuals.

Does anyone know of anything I can sow in May, or am I a bit late now?

 

You could start off some lupins for next year, might be a bit early, but they'd be nice and strong in time for planting out in late autumn.

Or leave it a month or two and start biennials (wallflowers, Sweet William?)?

 

That's a good idea. I have collected some seed from last years lupins so I could start those.

If I collected seed from a white lupin, will new plants all be white?

 

I doubt it Victoria. If you had a patch that were all white Lupins - you might have a chance. But if you have any other coloured Lupin near they are likely to cross pollinate.

You could always try some tender annuals, such as Cosmos, Cleome or Tithonia rotundifolia. These are all tender and can sulk if they experience cold conditions outside like the present. This is why Christopher Lloyd (Great Dixter) used to recommend sowing them in May.

Its really not too late to sow anything. Something sown a month ago is really only two weeks ahead of something sown today - because light levels and temperatures (?) were much lower a month ago.

 

Thank you Peter, that's really helpful

I remember last year that my first sunflowers got eaten, so I sowed some late and they were up like a rocket! I presumed it was because it was warm and sunny and they were absolutely ready to grow.

So if this applies to things you can sew in April then I will have a look and see what I fancy!

I already have some Cosmos 'Sea Shells' which are doing really well, and thinking about it they germinated extremely quickly. So I may look for a different type of cosmos to sow.

My Morning Glories, sown a month ago, are still to germinate. Very odd! Can't decide if I should increase the heat on these or not.

 

Now I think about it, I sow Marigolds in May, some outside, some inside. It means they don't bloom until a bit later, but they do keep going well into autumn, so much so I wonder if they will ever die!

 

I'm not a lover of marigolds :skp: but that certainly does show that sowing now is perfectly viable.

If the weather were warmer I'd have no concerns about them germinating quickly, so I might put them indoors. Having to light the fire every bloomin' day with this cold weather!

 

I know, we still have the heating on in the evenings. Crazy in mid May. They keep forecasting sunshine and a bit of warmth, but it just seems so cold, constantly. Maybe we're thoroughly chilled from the long winter and need some decent heat to warm us up.

 

It would just be nice to enjoy a little ambient warmth. I think it is a bit odd when we get hot springs and then no summer to speak of. But just warm enough to sit out in the evening for a cuppa with a fleece on would do me, when the kids have gone up to bed.