The Best Time to Plant Spring Flowers

Spring flowers are one of the joys of the season. Their color compliments the weather and increases our pleasure in being outdoors again. If you would like to have a garden full of spring flowers, it's quite possible to do. Knowing the best time to plant is the trick to having those wonderful spring flowers.

Spring-blooming perennials, other than bulbs, can be planted in the spring or in the fall. If planting seedlings, don't expect them to bloom the year they are planted. They'll need to spend the first year developing a strong root system and growing larger.

Blooming perennials are often sold at garden centers in the spring. They can be planted at once if they have been conditioned to tolerate local temperatures. If they have been grown entirely in greenhouses, they will have to be hardened off first. Take the plants indoors at night and put them outside for just a few hours each day at first. Lengthen the time they spend outdoors, gradually adding early morning at evening hours. Finally, leave them out overnight a couple of times. At that point, they are ready to plant in the garden.

When planting perennials in regions with very hot summers, it is best to plant in the fall. Most spring-blooming perennials become dormant or semidormant during the hot summer season. They will not transplant well in hot weather.

Spring-blooming shrubs can be planted in the spring or in the fall. You can often purchase them already in bloom at a garden center. These shrubs are usually used to local temperatures and can be planted as soon as they are purchased.

Many gardeners order shrubs through gardening catalogs; nurseries ship these shrubs at the right time to be planted in the homeowner's garden.

When planting in regions with cold winters, it is best to plant in the spring. This gives shrubs a long growing season to establish a strong root system before enduring freezing temperatures. If there is any doubt about the shrubs' ability to tolerate cold, harden them off for a few days before planting.

When planting in regions with very hot summers, it is best to plant shrubs in the fall. They cannot set root well in hot weather, but a long, warm winter will help them establish strong roots before enduring the summer heat.

Many traditional spring flowers, like daffodils and tulips, are actually bulb plants. The bulbs are planted in the fall to produce flowers the following spring. They require a cold dormant period to bloom, and if they don't get it, they won't produce flowers.

Plant spring flowering bulbs in the fall, after the ground has cooled but well before it freezes. This gives the bulbs time to set roots before winter. Check the bloom period for each bulb and plant so there will be a succession of flowers in the spring. The minor bulbs, such as crocus and glory of the snow, bloom first. They are followed by daffodils; then tulips; and finally allium and iris in early summer.

Annuals grown from seed in the garden do not flower in the first spring. They haven't had enough time to mature until later in the growing season. However, many nurseries sell flowering annuals in the spring that were grown in the greenhouse for spring bloom. They can be planted outside as soon as the nights are warm enough. Check each kind of bedding plant for cold tolerance before planting it in the garden. If the bedding plants have not been hardened off, take the time to do that before planting.

Frosts and freezes that occur later than expected can kill spring flowers, even if the plant survives. Keep an eye on the weather forecast. You can protect spring-flowering plants from frost by covering them at night with cheesecloth, old net curtains or bedsheets.