Zone 3 Flower Growing: February

February is a big deal for flower growers in Zone 3 because the chilly weather is [supposed to be] easing up, and signalling spring is on the way. It's time to put those January plans into action and dive into the fun of starting more seeds! February is also a busy month for florists with the one of the biggest holidays - Valentine’s Day. This month is filled with wholesale orders, seed orders, seed starting and building anticipation for spring.

his month signals a shift, where my garden dreams start taking shape, and getting ready is crucial for what looks like a colorful and successful growing season ahead. There is still enough to restart any slow growing flower varieties that didn’t germinate well.

Top Tasks for February

1. Tending to seedlings.

   This is the MOST tedious part of starting seeds! The miniscule seedlings, some smaller than a grain of salt, are prone to dampening off (too much moisture), or being fried by the grow lights if their moisture levels are too low. At this point in February (the 17th), the eucalyptus seeds have started sprouting their first set of true leaves, but all the other varieties are still on their first set of leaves.

   What I’m also looking for in February is the germination rate (how many seeds actually sprouted) vs how many didn’t. This will tell me either the viablity of the batch of seeds, and/or if the growing conditions are right (depth of seed when planted, temperature of the soil, amount of light.

   Right now I am watering the seed starting trays almost daily, if not twice a day (these cold weathers leave our house so DRY), rotating the trays under the lights, and monitoring for pests. What has saved me this year is a timer for my grow lights - in previous years I would forget the lights on, or off, and light exposure is crucial for some seed germiniation. I would say my germination rates are 60-80% better than last year because of this.

   My Personal Seed Collection

   Last year I noticed some flower varieties I had never grown before had amazing seeds pods that were so easy to harvest, I couldn’t help but start harvesting them. Those were pansies, bachelor’s buttons, calendula, gypsophila (baby’s breath), zinnia and sweet peas.

   So far I have started my pansies and have almost 100% germination rate! I’m curious to see what colours they are - if there was any cross polination or not!

2. Buying the last round of seeds.

   Most seed companies sell their seeds all-year-round, but only re-stock in the winter for an early/pre-spring launch. In this case, I couldn’t find mini-pumpkin seeds and a couple other flower varieties until the companies restocked. I received notification the seeds and varieties I wanted were available and so I double checked y seed inventory and placed two additional seed orders.

   Where I source my seeds:

   West Coast Seeds: Certified Organic
   T & T Seeds: Manitoba Based
   Lindenberg Seeds: Manitoba Based
   Lilystone Gardens: Manitoba Based

3. Seed Starting

   Start MORE seeds! The varieties 'I’ve started in February include:

   • February 1

     • Eucalyptus (seeds that were out of stock)

     • Snapdragons (1t stsuccession)

   • February 15th

     • Lisianthus (seeds that were out of stock)

     • Hollyhock (Perennial)

     • Delphinium (Perennial)

     • Ammi

     • Stock (1st succession)

   • February 22nd

     • Stock (2nd succession)

     • Snapdragons (2nd succession)

     • Scabiosa

     • Feverfew

     • Statice

4. Following my Planting Schedule

   I’ve developed my growing schedule from online Zone 3 resources (they are contradicting let me tell you!), but also with the help of ‘Frost Proof Flower Garden’ by Shifting Roots who is based out of Saskatchewan. She encourages starting cool hardy annuals even earlier by pushing the seed starting and hardneing off periods.

   Weather is so hard to predict, even a week in advance, so I am hoping for a moderate March and April, some snow is ok - just anything above -20 celcius would be fantastic to take full advatage of a smooth hardening off period (when you temper your seedlings to get used to being outside).

   My planging schedule always keeps me in check. I sometimes feel like I’m behind and get anxious to start more seeds than necessary, but my plan and schedule reassures me I’m on track, where I have gaps, and if needed, where I can catch up 😉

   Spring is coming fast - happy growing!

---