I have coreopsis lanceolata and gaillardia pulchella already germinating. Can these be saved? I started the seeds on 12/21, I live in Greer SC. After giving it some thought I think maybe I should not winter sow the easy stuff, annuals/biannuals. I could start those in early March, leaving seeds in fridge until then. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

They are outside in the weather?
Do those self seed where you are?
I think there is a chance they will be fine.

There are no mess ups in gardening!
But there are many learning experiences.

So, if I keep the plants in the shade and cool they should grow very slowly, right? I imagine a hard freeze would kill them, so put them in the garage during the freezes? Is my thinking right on this? There are thousands of youtube videos on winter sowing, not one of them tells you what to do in this situation. For all I know this could be normal. Thanks for any help.

CarolineScott said:
There are no mess ups in gardening!
But there are many learning experiences.

Well said!!!

Coreopsis is perennial, so it should be fine (I think but not positive - Sorry). Is gaillardia an annual for you? Annuals are supposed to be smart and not germinate until they're supposed to but I think lot of winter sowers wait until March to sow those just in case.
It shouldn't hurt to put them in your garage if the temps go very low or put a blanket over them to be on the safe side.

It's not necessarily a mistake you made, when you're hit by an outrageous cold snap like this one