What Seeds to Start and When in Winter and Spring 2023

It's time to start the engines for the 2023 outdoor gardening season. I know you've been dreaming about spring for awhile ... it's been a long winter in the West.  March, Colorado's snowiest month could test our patience for wanting to get out in the garden. 

Large landscape projects like patios, pergolas, fences, etc. are often do it yourself undertakings which mean you will begin as time, resources and weather conditions permit.  If you're hiring a reliable landscaper to do the job then get on their schedule now, the good ones book up quickly.

For seed starters both inside and directly outside, the charts below should help you with your planning. I cover when to start seeds indoors in relation to the average final spring frost date. 

I've posted these charts previously in this blog.

The first pdf below is an overview of the outdoor gardening season along the Front Range and hopefully helpful to many gardeners in other parts of the Rocky Mountain Region.  

By cool-season I'm referring to both ornamental annual and vegetable plants that prefer growing in temperatures between 60 and 80 degrees and just don't grow as well in warm to hot temperatures. They are best suited to grow in the spring, then again in mid-summer for a fall crop. Many are tolerant of frost.

Examples of cool-season plants include snapdragons, larkspur, lobelia, nasturtium, viola, lettuce, broccoli, peas, radish, spinach, turnip, cabbage, and kohlrabi. Many more.

Warm-season ornamental annual and vegetable plants prefer growing in temperatures between 70 and 95 degrees and are intolerant of any frost (unless you're covering). They grow best in the window after the final spring frost and before the first fall frost.

Examples of warm-season plants include mandevilla, ageratrum, coleus, sun patiens, geraniums, marigolds, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, beans, basil. Many more.

 
Annuals Herbs CoolSeason Warm-Season