Don't Rush the Season: Protect plants from late spring frosts

So, you loaded up on Super Sonic impatiens, some crazy looking coleus, purple basil, and heirloom tomatoes on Victoria Day weekend and now you are terrified to plant them. Well, you should be. Withering winds, evil frosts, even snow can all be part of the forecast in late May, even June, and that means a very poor prognosis for tender plants.

Gardeners go loony on Victoria Day weekend. We want colour, fragrance, the promise of summer after a hellish winter. Well, Victoria Day used to be on Victoria's birthday, May 24th; now it sneaks up on us early. But, we still insist on shopping and planting like warm weather is here to stay.

"Don't buy until the weather stabilizes," Tom Laviolette, Gardens Superintendent at the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture, is talking about the cold-sensitive annuals like coleus. "If they get too much cold they go downhill right away, and some of them never recover."

On the long weekend, it seems gardeners in many areas of Canada go into a planting frenzy. "Absolutely," says Bob Osborne of Corn Hill Nursery in New Brunswick. "People think the weather is settling down, and it's time to plant annuals and vegetables."

Avid gardener Dave Cummins never plants his tomatoes until June. "Some vegetables - tomatoes, peppers - just don't do well in cold soil. It's far better to hold them back and put them out in June after the ground has warmed up." Dave has a greenhouse full of annuals waiting for the "all clear" to move out into the garden. He also picked up a small portable cold frame from Lee Valley Tools, to shield more plants like geraniums from the weather, especially strong, cold winds. "The last few years we've been spoiled by early, warm springs, but it's really pretty dicey planting tender stuff on Victoria Day weekend."

"Last year on Victoria Day weekend it snowed, and I was working with my ski jacket on." Beth Endean is the store manager at Plant World in Toronto. "I see people whizzing by with a cartload of impatiens and I worry." Beth advises people to proceed with caution. "Impatiens, coleus, dill, peppers, basil, tomatoes - you have to protect them." She suggests putting the plants outside during the day and, if the forecast is for cold nights, move them back into a garage for the evening. Plants can also be protected from frost by covering them with burlap, sheets or landscape cloth. "We had such a cold winter, there was five feet of frost in the ground. I try to get to every customer and tell them to be careful," she says.

At the garden of my friend, the modest and talented Mrs. X, the patio is covered with mysterious annuals grown from seed. And even she is investing in a greenhouse. "Victoria long weekend is really too cold. Everybody goes hairy. I'm having conniptions. It's been so cold at night, you have to be prepared to look after the plants or they will croak. June 1st is really a safer time to plant."

"I think people are looking for a magic date to plant all their annuals," says Tom Intven of Canadale Nurseries in St. Thomas. "In a perfect world, Victoria Day would be on the 24th, but people would really hold off until the end of the month to plant the tender material." Intven knows the tug of war gardeners face. They want the newest snazzy annuals, and fear they will be picked over or gone if they wait too long to buy. "Sometimes the annuals aren't even ready because the stock is too small. But they are being grown in bigger pots, and sometimes the growers send us two crops, so the annuals should have a longer shelf life and that will allow gardeners to shop longer."

Oh, but those plants are so tempting. Just running your hand across a pot of basil produces a sweet wave of pleasure. Dave Schmidt gets giddy at the thought. "It's the time to plant, spring is in its fullness." The acting Manager of Horticulture at the Royal Botanical Gardens admits to planting annual containers early and moving them in and out of sheltered locations. "We are just so enthused and excited at this time of the year."

I, myself, am trying to stay away from garden centres for a few more days. I know there are new Avalanche petunias calling to me and wondrous new nicotianas waiting to be adopted. But, I have no garage, and the basement is full of guy stuff. I do not want to be an irresponsible plant owner. On the other hand, my car is pretty warm, there is a sun roof, the humidity would be good...