One of my favorite parts of gardening is experimenting with new flowers. While strawflowers are not new to my garden, I did want to really push the limits of their cold hardiness. Here in my zone 6b/7 garden in Kentucky, the process of overwintering them can be a roll of the dice.
Depending upon where you live, you can start strawflower seeds in the spring, the fall or both. Even with the protection of my unheated hoop house, I lost a large majority of the seedlings during the coldest part of winter. Luckily, the plants will grow plenty tall from a spring planting as soon as the soil can be worked in the spring. 
When the time comes to actually start the seeds, you definitely have some choices to make. In the past, I have successfully direct sowed strawflowers in the garden. However, transplanting them is also insanely easy. They don’t seem to mind transplant, at all. In fact, I even prefer it so that I can space the plants accordingly. 
Winter sowing is also a great option for strawflowers. If you’re unfamiliar with the winter sowing method, be sure to search for more information here on the blog or on my youtube channel. It allows me to start all of my seeds each season without grow lights, and was a major game changer in my yard. Though I’m not certain that the seeds need it, I always make sure to put the packet into my spare fridge for at least 2 weeks before planting. I’m not sure if it’s absolutely necessary, but in doing so, I’ve always had great results.
Have you ever grown strawflower before? I’d love to hear all about your experiences in the comments below.
