Re: Planting times--question from a new gardener
- To:
- Subject: Re: Planting times--question from a new gardener
- From: M* T*
- Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 00:23:12 -0500
Laury,
Everybody is right - it's a tough call ;-)
So much depends on the weather and your particular garden's microclimates.
This said, you can generally get away with planting hardy perennials on or
about the last "average" frost date in your area - someone said call your
local extension agent; good idea. Or, if you have a neighbor with a good
garden, ask them...they will know.
Cannas and Dahlias need to wait until both the air temperature and soil
temperature have warmed up; they will just sit and sulk in cold soil and
air, so there's no sense in putting them in the ground. Better to start
them off early in pots so they have put on some top growth by the time it's
warm enough to plant them out.
Daylilies are generally tough as boots and can be planted as soon as your
ground has warmed up enough to work it - or around that mythical "last
frost" date. They emerge quite early and can take light frosts *if* they
are planted in a dormant state. If you buy them with leaf growth, unless
they were just dug from a local field, they will probably have come from a
greenhouse and been kept frost free. If this is the case, you need to
harden off the foliage by taking them outside for a few hours on nice, warm
(50F and above) days and bringing them in at night. Best to start this by
setting them in a shady spot and gradually, over a week or so, move them
into more and more sun and leave them out longer until you just leave them
outside all night (if it does not go below around 35F).
Always be aware of the temperature forecasts and have some Remay on hand,
or old bushel baskets, cardboard boxes or whatever, to cover your new
plantings in case a late frost comes around...which it usually will.
I can't tell you about Calla lilies, as I grow mine in pots year around so
don't set them out until May around here...will be later for you as you are
farther north. In general, they are not very frost hardy (although one or
two kinds are supposed to be), so it's best to wait until the weather has
stabilized...once again, you can pot them up and get them started inside if
you've got a sunny spot.
Another thing you need to keep in mind is what state your soil is in...you
don't want to work it if it's clay until it dries out a bit from winter
snow and rain as that destroys the composition and you end up with clods
that never break up. If, OTOH, you have perfect loam or sandy soil, ignore
this advice ;-)
Gardening is never a sure thing....you have to experiment, use your best
judgment, be prepared to protect new plantings and expect to lose a few
things...part and parcel of the gardening game.
Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
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----------
> From: Leotah@aol.com
> Date: Tuesday, March 16, 1999 10:27 AM
>
> I'm a new gardener, and have spent the last 6 months reading as much as
> possible about gardening. Unfortunately, many of the books contradict
one
> another, as do mail order nurseries, and anyone else giving advice. My
> question is when it is appropriate to plant in the spring. We garden in
> southwestern Massachusetts, zone 5.
>
> When can perennials go into the ground? Hardy annuals? Dahlias, cannas,
> calla lilies? Day lilies?
>
> Some say April. Others mid-May. Others Memorial Day. That's a wide
spread
> for a relatively short growing season, and I want to be able to get as
much as
> I can from my first full year of gardening.
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