Wondering when to start planting flowers for Spring?
I’ve got some helpful tips for you — based on my own experience (and the Farmer’s Almanac).
If any of the neighbors spotted me late last night poking around our yard and playing in the flower garden… they must’ve thought I was crazy!
It looked as if I got a late-night urge to do some gardening.
Truth is, last night’s “frost warning” sent me scurrying to protect our $200+ investment of flowers!
It’s One Of Our Traditions
As many of you know, it’s “tradition” that we typically plant our flowers way too early each season — usually on that proverbial “first day of spring”. (More on that in a minute.)
We are just so impatient!
We can’t wait to add some color to things around here, and bring the outdoors to life again by planting flowers. It’s so uplifting.
But, We Planted Too Early… Again!
WELL… we broke all of our own rules this year and waited until April 17th to do our planting this year.
The first day of spring was on March 20th this year — so we thought we did good!
Each year, our neighbor reminds us: “They say you should wait until April 15th each year to plant. That’s the date they feel safe that there will be no more heavy frosts.”
So we waited — until April 17th.
And wouldn’t you know it… 7 days after we planted… there was another Frost Warning!
Hurry Up And Do Something!
So, I the far-too-logical (and cheapskate) one of the household felt compelled to protect our investment by covering up each and every plant, bud, and sprig with a layer of cloth. (I wish I had a picture of that… it was pretty funny.)
All the potted plants were brought indoors.
TIP: I learned on the news that you should never use plastic to cover your plants… use cloth instead. Plastic will suffocate your plants. Yes, even if it’s just lightly placed on top. (Here are some more great tips for preventing frost damage.)
Thank goodness for that “box ‘o rags” we had leftover from painting all the rooms in our house! I must’ve used 40+ rags covering all of our flowers.
The reason it took so many is because we purchased about 50 little Salvia plants and used them to line the perimeter of our front shrubs. (It looks really cool, but it was kind of a lot of work.)
The Morning After Our Heavy FROST
It worked!
At the CRACK OF DAWN (5:45 a.m. to be exact), I got dressed and ventured outdoors to promptly remove all of the individual coverings. I wanted to do this before anyone became aware of my craziness.
You see, I felt that I was the only over-protective one on the block who cared enough about their plants to cover them up.
Actually, I think everyone else around here knows something I don’t — because virtually NO ONE has planted a thing yet this year, and it’s almost May!
Then, Another FREEZE Warning
Silly me… I failed to keep my ears tuned to the local weather and now they’re saying that last night’s was a few-days-notice “frost warning” — but tonight’s is a sudden-onset-impromptu-record-low-temperatures-predicted “freeze warning”!
Great. Just great.
Guess I’d better get back out there and cover everything up again.
It is Spring, right???
The Takeaway: Never Plant Flowers On The First Day Of Spring!
Despite the fact that it’s Spring (the official first day of Spring was just a few days ago), and you might have had some really nice, warm, sunny days lately… I have a piece of advice for you: DO. NOT. PLANT. YET.
Yep, do everything in your power to resist the urge to plant colorful flowers this early.
As documented above… I’ve been there, done that! (More than once.)
Here in Tennessee, last weekend was one of the most beautiful we’ve had since last September.
The urge to plant some fresh, colorful flowers was very strong.
Somehow, we resisted. (Must’ve been all the previous years of planting too early that finally set us straight!)
When Is It Safe To Plant Flowers In The Spring?
Wondering exactly when it is safe to plant in your area? When you can be reasonably sure that there won’t be any more nights of below-freezing temperatures or nights when frost is projected requiring you to run out into the night and cover up all your plants?
Check the Victory Seeds website. They show the likelihood of a frost in any given area!
They tell you the earliest Spring date and the latest Fall date when you’re practically guaranteed that frost will not occur in your area.
You’re welcome.
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