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Your spring garden can speak to you. Are you listening?
When that first spell of warm weather with above-freezing temperatures at night comes along in spring, it's sometimes difficult to resist the temptation to get everything into the ground: plants, seeds, bulbs, rhizomes, and corms. Every year I wrestle with that impulse, especially when spring comes early to our zone 5a Cottage-in-the-MeadowGardens, as it has for the past several years.
Many gardeners have their favorite methods for determining when those magic dates for planting finally arrive:In the region where I garden it's Good Friday for potatoes, after the Drei Kalte Männer* in May for plants especially susceptible to frost damage, specific dates on the calendar, and the various phases of the moon.For the more scientifically-minded, a soil thermometer does the trick.
I, on the other hand, prefer to let plants themselves tell me when it's safe to plant. Here is a list of plants I consult when I begin gardening each year:
·When forsythia blooms, it's time to plant the seeds of alyssum, carrots, cornflower, peas, poppies, and radishes.
·When cherry trees and flowering quince bloom, it's time to plant broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, larkspur, onion, pansy, and snapdragon.
·When lilacs are in full bloom (as they are in our garden right now), it's time to plant the seeds of beans, corn, cucumber, marigolds, morning glory, nasturtium, petunias, squash, sunflower, and zinnias.
·When bridal veil (Spirea vanhouttei) and wild cherry trees bloom, it's generally safe to assume that the last frost of spring has passed. This is the time to plant all those frost-tender plants you've been eying at garden centers for the past month or so.
As I've indicated above, cool-season vegetables--including most salad greens, peas, onions and popular cole crops such as cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli--can tolerate temperatures slightly below freezing. Warm-season vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash and melons can suffer greatly, if air temperatures drop below 50 degrees, unless you've protected the transplants with cloches or some other plant-protection device.
A special word of caution about caladiums and peppers: Caladiums are sensitive to temperatures below 50 degrees. Prolonged exposure will cause the leaves to droop and eventually the plant will go dormant right in the midst of spring. Those beautiful multi-colored leaves look great in stores and greenhouses right now, but if you want to keep them looking that way, don't purchase caladiums until the nighttime temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees. Alternatively, you can purchase them now and keep them in a warm, bright spot (no direct sun) until it's safe to plant them outdoors. Peppers also follow the 50-degrees rule. Their leaves won't be harmed much by lower temperatures, but they generally will not bloom well, if at all, if it's below 50 when its time for the plant to start producing flower buds. Hence, there will be few or no peppers.
On the other hand, there are plants that are amazingly hardy and survive even hard frosts in spring. A number of years ago temperatures plunged into the teens just as tulips and daffodils were about to bloom (some of the earlier varieties already had blossoms) and the garden perennials had poked their heads up about six inches out of the ground. I went to check on them the next morning and found that the tulip leaves had literally turned blue, the daffodil leaves were drooping to the ground, and the perennials were stiff as a board. I tried to bend a phlox shoot and it simply snapped in two. It was hard as a rock! I was convinced that every plant that had dared to venture above ground was doomed. Yet, much to my surprise, two days later there was barely any evidence of frost damage anywhere!
What are your favorite methods of determining when it's safe to plant?You can let me know in the space provided below.
Thanks to my wife, Wilma, for her gracious permission to use her photo. The lilac in the background has been growing in our gardens for over 50 years.
*Amana German for "three cold men," which refers to three succeeding nights of frost in May. After these have passed, it's considered safe to plant anything susceptible to frost.
About Larry Rettig
An enthusiastic gardener for over 50 years, my first plant was a potted Meyer Lemon tree ordered from a comic book ad at age 15. I still have it, and it’s still bearing lemons! My wife and I garden on 3/4 of an acre, both flowers and vegetables. Although our garden is private, it's listed with the Smithsonian Institution as a national heritage garden and is on the National Register of Historic Places. We garden organically and no-till. Our vegetable garden contains a seed bank of vegetables brought to this country from Germany in the mid-1800s. An article on our gardens appears in the Spring 2008 issue of Country Gardens magazine. For more info: http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/m/LarryR/. Photos that appear in my articles without credit are my own.
Posted by loumd114 (from Silver Spring, MD) on October 1, 2008 at 7:45 PM:
Hello folks,
As much as I have searched on the web, I can not find a database which will give me the answer to when the last frost usually occurs in central Maryland in the spring, and when the first frost occurs in the fall.
Does anyone know where I can find such data, or have the answer to my question?
Thanks in advance. Lou
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Posted by LarryR (from South Amana, IA) on October 3, 2008 at 12:09 PM:
Hi Lou--The link below produces maps that can be enlarged by clicking on the area you want to view. There are three maps: one shows dates when weather is frost-free, one spring frost dates, and one fall frost dates. Hope this helps! Best--Larry
Posted by rachel211 (from Springdale, PA) on May 5, 2008 at 6:42 AM:
great and most helpful article.thank you
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Posted by LarryR (from South Amana, IA) on May 6, 2008 at 3:35 PM:
Glad to help, Rachel. Thanks for the kind words! Best--Larry ☼
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Subject: this makes so much sense!
Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on May 3, 2008 at 11:28 AM:
It is so logical to use a system that incorporates variability in zone, weather and even local microclimates - if I grew all those vegetables, Larry, I would surely test this method. Interesting read, and thank you. Carrie
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Posted by Kathleen (from Panama, NY) on May 3, 2008 at 1:49 PM:
Larry, how come your lilacs are already in bloom ? Ours all have nice leaves and buds, but won't bloom for another two weeks. How can I have zone envy if we're in the same zone?
Mrs. Brown, the former owner of this farm, always said to plant cucumbers when the blackberries blossom. Works very well.
This message was edited May 3, 2008 1:49 PM
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Posted by Pamgarden (from Central, VA) on May 3, 2008 at 4:49 PM:
I'm bookmarking your article to refer to again. I didn't realize that a private garden could be registered with the Smithonian. Wish you lived next door to me! I am so impressed that you still have that lemon tree from your teenage years.
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Posted by Kelli (from Los Angeles (Canoga , CA) on May 3, 2008 at 9:45 PM:
This is an interesting article. Thank you. We don't have to worry much about frost here, but I do have a couple plant weather indicators. When the Autumn Joy blooms, the most brutal of the summer heat is over. When the Virginia creeper turns red, it's time for Santa Ana wind conditions to start.
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Posted by art_n_garden (from Colorado Springs, CO) on May 4, 2008 at 12:07 AM:
Larry thank you for passing on some of your hard earned knowledge! I am in the throes of the antsiness to plant out rightnowrightnow! I am trying to be patient. Great timing for your article.
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Posted by LarryR (from South Amana, IA) on May 4, 2008 at 12:10 PM:
Thank you all for your kind comments. I'll send you a more personal D-mail. Best--Larry☼
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Posted by Fitsy (from Hayesville, NC) on May 5, 2008 at 8:14 AM:
Thanks for the very helpful article.
The blackberry blossom rule should work here in NC, too.
That is when we have "blackberry winter". Temps can dip very
low, but its warm from then on.
I always heard that it is safe to plant corn when oak leaves are
the size of a mouse's ear.
Me, I watch to see what weeds are sprouting. Of course, then I
am already a week behind them.
Fitsy
