The short version: A January sowing is largely a sowing for autumn. In subtropical, arid, temperate and Mediterranean gardens, zinnia, sunflower, globe amaranth and amaranth flower sown in January flower in autumn. Cool and alpine gardens start pansy, viola, stock, wallflower and billy buttons in shaded trays, because pansy and viola seed comes up poorly in heat. The tropics mostly wait until the wet season eases. Cut back tired annuals on a dry morning for a late flush.
By January, spring-sown cosmos and zinnias have done the heavy lifting, and some have turned leggy. The useful question is what will still flower when the evenings cool. If you are catching up, see the December flower list.
Our zone-by-zone sowing calendar sets the windows below.
What a January sowing gives you, and when
Heat lovers sown in January flower from late summer through autumn; cool-season flowers, from autumn to spring. Weeks run from sowing to first flowers:
| Flower | Weeks to flower | From early January, expect |
|---|---|---|
| Portulaca | 6 to 7 | Late February |
| Sunflower | 8 to 12 | Late February and March |
| Zinnia, globe amaranth | 10 to 13 | Mid March to April |
| Celosia | 12 to 14 | Late March and April |
| Amaranth flower | 14 to 16 | April |
| Viola | 9 to 17 | Autumn, then through winter |
| Pansy | 16 to 17 | Late autumn into winter |
| Stock | 10 to 20 | Autumn and winter, dwarf types first |
| Wallflower | 24 or more | July to November, later in cool gardens |
| Billy buttons, sweet william | Overwinter first | The following spring |
Heat lovers: the last summer sowing in most zones
January closes the window for sunflower, globe amaranth and amaranth flower in arid, temperate and Mediterranean gardens, and for zinnia in the last two. Warm air is not the problem, since zinnia seed comes up fastest at 22 to 25 degrees C. A dry, baking surface is.
- Soak the bed the day before, sow late in the afternoon, and check the row daily until seedlings are up.
- Prop shade cloth over the row for the first week or two, because hot bare soil cuts emergence.
- Keep celosia watered. A dry spell brings on early, undersized flowers.
Marigold suits January in temperate gardens; subtropical gardens wait for February. Feverfew germinates best at 15 to 24 degrees C, so it waits for February or March. Feverfew sits with the herbs in our list of herbs to sow in January.
Cool-season flowers start in a shaded tray
Pansy and viola seed dislikes heat. Propagation figures from the University of Florida show pansy germinating at about 90% at 20 degrees C, 56% at 30 and 10% at 35, and overheated seed can stay dormant even after it cools.
- Fill a clean tray with fresh seed raising mix, and moisten it before sowing.
- Cover pansy and viola seed with 5 to 6 mm of mix, then pierced film and newspaper, as it germinates best in the dark. Sow stock 2 to 3 mm deep and wallflower 3 to 6 mm.
- Press billy buttons and alyssum seed onto the surface, as light helps them germinate; billy buttons wants 21 to 24 degrees C, so give it bright shade. Cover sweet william 5 mm deep.
- Stand trays in the coolest shade you have, such as the south side of the house. A soil thermometer in the mix should read 17 to 22 degrees C for pansy and viola through the afternoon.
- Lift the covers as seedlings appear, prick out at the first true leaves, and harden them off before planting out as nights cool.
The same shaded trays raise cabbage and broccoli seedlings; see starting winter brassicas in summer heat.
In January this is cool and alpine work, plus temperate wallflowers. Other zones follow: temperate and Mediterranean in February, subtropical and arid in February or March, the tropics in March or April. Forget-me-nots, which usually need a cool spell to set buds, start in February in temperate and cool gardens. Keep them away from creeks and bushland, where they have escaped in several states.
Keep damping off out of a wet summer tray
Damping off, where seedlings rot at soil level and topple, thrives on warm, wet mix and still air. Keep trays under eaves or a clear roof, out of storms. Sow thinly, take lids off once seed is up, and water from below in the morning. Pull collapsed seedlings with the mix around them. Resow in a washed tray with fresh mix.
Give tired annuals a midsummer cut
A January trim turns leggy spring sowings into an autumn display. Cut cosmos and straggly marigolds back by about a third, shear alyssum by half, and take spent zinnia stems down to a leaf pair with a shoot. Water deeply and give a liquid feed at the label rate, and plants often flower again within about a month. Our guide to pinching out and the Chelsea chop covers the summer cut-back for perennials too.
Cut on a dry morning, when stems are full of water and cuts can dry before evening. Skip wet days, because leaf diseases travel in water splash and on wet hands and blades.
Deadheading is weed control too. Ageratum counts as an environmental weed in Queensland and New South Wales, and Brisbane City Council's weed guide flags it along waterways. Several amaranths have naturalised in Australia, so cut the tassels before seed falls. See which self-seeding flowers behave.
Flowers for late-summer vases
Spring sowings fill late-summer vases: zinnias, sunflowers, cosmos, celosia and globe amaranth. Pick soon after sunrise, taking zinnias fully open and sunflowers as the first petals lift.
For drying, cut globe amaranth once the heads are fully coloured and open, and hang small bunches upside down out of direct sun. Everlasting daisies have no January window in our calendar, so keep them for an autumn or spring sowing; see growing everlasting daisies.
January sowing, zone by zone
The zones are broad groupings; between two, or at altitude, go by local cues such as the first autumn frost.
Tropical (Darwin in the Northern Territory, Cairns and Townsville in Queensland, Broome in Western Australia). In the wet season our calendar lists celosia, in raised beds or pots, with crested types spaced against rot. Impatiens follows from March in part shade, and most flowers from April.
Subtropical (Brisbane and south-east Queensland, northern New South Wales). Sow zinnia, sunflower, celosia, cosmos, globe amaranth, amaranth flower, portulaca and ageratum. Busy Lizzie suits shade, but Brisbane City Council lists it as pest vegetation, so check with your council and deadhead it and ageratum near bushland. Space zinnias generously against mildew.
Arid and semi-arid (Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Broken Hill in New South Wales, Mildura in Victoria, Kalgoorlie in Western Australia). Sow zinnia, sunflower, celosia, globe amaranth, amaranth flower and portulaca, shading seed rows and mulching deeply once seedlings are up. Sow amaranth early in the month, as it must flower before May frosts.
Temperate (Sydney and the New South Wales coast, Melbourne in Victoria). January is the final month for zinnia, sunflower, marigold, globe amaranth, amaranth flower, portulaca, verbena and ageratum; deadhead ageratum before it seeds. Start wallflower trays in shade.
Mediterranean (Perth and southern Western Australia, Adelaide in South Australia). Sow zinnia, sunflower, globe amaranth and amaranth flower, check sowings daily, and water a wetting agent into water-shedding sand at the label rate. Evening scented stock, a declared weed in both states, cannot be sent there; sow common stock in February.
Cool and alpine (Tasmania, Canberra in the ACT, Ballarat in Victoria, Orange and Armidale in New South Wales, Stanthorpe in Queensland). Sow pansy, viola, stock, wallflower, billy buttons, sweet william and alyssum. Early January also suits dwarf sunflowers that flower within about 10 weeks, where frost usually holds off until April. Plant wallflowers out by about Anzac Day. Everlasting daisy and Californian poppy are safest sown in spring.
A caution about wallflowers
Wallflower holds heart glycosides like those in foxglove, including in the seed, so treat the whole plant as poisonous if eaten. Grow it out of reach of children and pets. If someone eats any, ring the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26; if a pet does, ring your vet.
Frequently asked questions
Is January too late to sow zinnias?
Not in subtropical, arid, temperate or Mediterranean gardens. In cool and alpine gardens the window closes in December, as January sowings risk autumn frost.
Why did my pansy seed not come up in summer?
Usually heat or light. Resow under 5 to 6 mm of mix in the coolest shade you have, or wait for your zone's autumn window.
Will wallflowers sown in January flower in autumn?
No. They grow leafy through autumn and winter, then flower from about July in temperate gardens and September in cool and alpine ones. For autumn colour from a cool-season flower, sow stock or violas.
What flowers can I sow in January in the tropics?
Celosia, in raised beds or pots. Most tropical flowers do better sown from April, as the wet season eases.
A shaded tray of pansies looks like very little in January. By May it can light up the garden.
Related growing guides
- Pinching out, the Chelsea chop and the summer cut-back
- Starting winter brassicas in summer heat
- Flowers to sow in February, zone by zone
- Flowers to sow in December, zone by zone
- What to sow in January: vegetables for every zone
- Herbs to sow in January, zone by zone
- Deadheading flowers to keep them blooming
- Preventing damping off
- Easy cut flowers to raise from seed
Browse our flower seeds, or the pansy seeds for that shaded tray.