Like the winter predictions, El Nino/cold fronts have been ever present with snow and freezes through January and February. The only saving grace are the daytime warmer temperatures. We all have spring fever and I know how hard it to say no to new plants, any time of year. We all see them, the colorful frillies at the grocery and hardware stores. But is it worth the impulse buy, or is that plant gunna die??
If you have the itch to add something new to your garden (let’s be honest, I’m not the one that will stop you!), I’m working on my guide to successfully purchase a long lasting plant in winter and early spring. It is a tough time to plant some tender annuals/perennials with the lower temperatures and some are incorrectly labeled with their hardiness. What’s worse is many wholesalers take liberties when writing plant tag/label descriptions. I find many with completely inaccurate information, it’s disheartening and downright confusing. This can lead to buying a plant we think can handle winter temperatures and it just might not make it! There’s two ways to look at it- 1: take the risk, buy the plant, you’ll survive even if the plant doesn’t OR 2: pick something tried and true and have repeat flowering for years to come.
Here’s a list of some fun, hardy plants usually available early spring at stores that will provide an instant bump of color to fill containers or garden beds:
Some of these flowers may suffer some wilting during long periods of freezing temperatures and snow, most will bounce back
Hellebores
Hardy double primroses
forced bulbs like:
iris reticulata (flowers may be damaged in snow)
crocus
daffodil (i love tete e tete)
tulip (wild varieties, look for the word naturalize)
hyacinth
fritillaria
anemone
azalea shrub
pansy (treat as annual)
common primrose
My list of picky early spring plants
florist’s cyclamen
ranunculus (I tend to treat them as an annual)
fuchsias
mini roses
Now, I know I need to add more to this list, but it stopped raining a bit ago and I need to head outside and mulch the flowerbeds before all the daffodils and tulips take over!
I’ll be back
Alison