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Re: Hardening off

Hi!  I am new to this mailing list but have been gardening for about ten
years.  I am a Master Gardener for Wayne County in Michigan(zone 5), I
have successfully completed a landscaping course, and have been
designing, installing, and maintaining gardens for about seven years.  I
am completely new to using computers and the Internet, so please bear
with me and don't be offended with any mistakes I may make.

As for the issue of hardening off, this is a very essential process in
establishing plants outdoors after beginning them inside from seed.  This
process accustoms the seedling to the different temperature and light
intensity between indoors and outdoors.  If you don't harden off a
seedling before permanently establishing it outside, the shock of the
temperature and light change will probably kill it.  As for alpines, I
have no direct experience in hardening off this group of plants.
However, both annuals and perennials need to be hardened off as seedlings
started inside for them to grow outside.Hope this helps you.

Merry

McAlpine, Duncan G wrote:

> After we have spent out time cleaning our seeds and watching them
> germinating  in our cold frame or greenhouse, there is process called
> "HARDENING OFF" which needs to be understood.
>
> Why is it important to Harden off seedlings  and what could happen if
> you don't?  What are the pro's and con's for Harding off annual,
> perennials and or alpines?  Do alpines need to be harden off?
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