![]() Regions close to Lake Erie, which modifies air temperatures, are also zone 6 regions. Generally, in the southeast, or climatic zone 6, the last frost date ranges from March 30 to April 30. There are three ranges of average last frost dates for Pennsylvania. You can best gauge specific times in the spring for sowing seed outdoors or transplanting by the average last frost date. Then they will be mature and ready to bloom outdoors on time. You can sow most summer annuals indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost. ![]() Some plants, such as dwarf marigolds, develop flowers in 5 weeks, while others, such as impatiens, take as long as 3 months or more. Consider scheduling separate planting dates for different varieties of plants if their days to germination vary and you want to transplant them into the garden at the same time. You can then plan seeding dates by counting back on the calendar the number of days to germination, plus a week or more for acclimation to allow seedlings to adjust to an outdoor environment. Usually, gardeners set a planting date-an actual day on the calendar-to sow seeds or transplant seedlings and small plants into the garden. You may decide to let volunteer seedlings grow, thinning them where they germinate and transplanting them to another place, or treat them like weeds and pull them out. These “volunteer" seedlings may also develop into plants with these disadvantages. Sometimes, a plant self-seeds by dropping seed on the ground as a way of propagation. The pollen that fertilized the flower may have come from inferior plants that were not cultivated or not preferred for growing in the garden. Seeds saved from these plants often do not resemble the parents in color, size, or growth habit. Many new annuals result from crosses between two parents with similar characteristics. Make sure the seeds are ripe (fully matured) when you collect them and allow them to thoroughly dry before you store them in a cool, airtight container. You can also collect homegrown seed from your annual and biennial plants. When sowing saved seed, you may need to double, triple, or quadruple the amount used. However, even if you store them properly, as seeds age they can dry out and will be less likely to germinate. ![]() If seed is left over after sowing, you can save it for the following sowing season if you store it in an air-tight container and keep it in a cool, dry place. You can purchase packets of seeds from local stores and garden centers, through reputable catalogs, or directly from seed companies. This makes the seeds larger and more visible so they can be spaced properly with less need for thinning. Pelleted seed is very small seed that is coated with a clay mixture for easier handling. ![]() Dressed seed is dusted with a fungicide or a combination of insecticide and fungicide before packaging.This seed is carefully selected and cleaned to remove any weed seeds or debris. Standard seed refers to all seed used for sowing in annual flower beds and gardens.Seed companies carefully select seed that originates from plants with superior traits. If you want to have plants that bloom earlier, you can also sow seeds indoors in early spring and transplant outdoors after the last frost date. In Pennsylvania, you can sow most annual seeds outdoors after the last frost date since the growing season is long enough for them to germinate, grow to maturity, and blossom before temperatures drop to near-freezing levels. Sowing seeds is a relatively inexpensive way to produce garden plants.
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