RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Mo — Spring-like temperatures from the weekend into the early portions of this week had many people eager to get outdoors and start gardening. However, a strong cold front on Tuesday night has raised questions about whether planting now is too early.
“Planting while they’re dormant, still in that winter sleep, allows the plant to experience less stress compared to planting in May,” said Steve Roesch. “Capitalizing on this early opportunity typically leads to better transplanting for your trees and shrubs.”
This gives them time to acclimate to their new environment instead of planting them right at the onset of spring and summer heat. As well as annuals – these are your frost-hardy plants that can withstand a light frost during the nighttime hours.
Steve suggests being prepared to cover some of your more tender plants on nights when the temperatures drop:
“Being prepared to cover some of your more tender plants… just to get some of the frost off of them throughout the winter will make a big difference in how they survive and transition to the real spring weather,” said Roesch.
Not only has the swing in temperatures been a tricky topic for planters, but also for those landscaping.
“We had to reschedule a few jobs… a few clients we had to call and let them know ‘Hey, we are gonna have to reschedule for April 1st… so yeah, it’s quite tough. One day you wake up in the 60s, tomorrow it’s in the 20s,” said Coorely Tomlin.
One rule of thumb for gardening is if your local nursery has certain plants for sale and the ground is soft enough to shovel, then it is OK to get those plants in the ground. But when temperatures take a dive like they did last night and the night before, make sure to cover those plants that are sensitive.
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