Plants For Spring Planting
The Best Things to Plant in the Spring
Around about mid-winter, gardeners everywhere are dreaming of the spring and the ripe potential of a new garden.
Whether snow-bound in Maine or nurturing blooms all winter long in California, spring everywhere presents great opportunity for new plants, new beds and new growth.
So what is best to plant in spring? It all depends on your latitude. Obviously, areas above the permafrost line require a hardier and more patient hand, and those digging the soils in moderate regions have a larger field to choose from. But no matter where you live, spring holds the promise of a new bloom.
One of the easiest and most rationale choice is a hosta. These hardy perennials seem to thrive on winter's sleep, as they return year after year, bigger, fuller, richer. It's difficult to kill them, as they have been known to thrive after being mistakenly mowed over. The variety of leaf colors and blooms are enough to devote an entire garden to just hostas.
Most vegetable gardens go in as soon as the chance of freeze had subsided. Asparagus, beans, beets, cabbage, carrots, broccoli, mustard, onions and lettuce all need to get in as early as April, while peppers, pumpkins, squash and melons can wait until later in May.
Bulbs are traditionally planted in the ground in the fall, and are ready to push through sometimes even before the snow is melted. Daffodils and crocuses are among these renowned early risers. However, nurseries now offer gardeners bulb plants, grown in containers in greenhouses, for instant planting of colors in the spring.
One of the most favorite plantings for spring is lilies. Offering diversity and hardiness, day, Asiatic and oriental, and calla lilies can thrive in most zones from 3 to 10, offering versatility in all ranges. Livening up any garden, lilies are hearty and can be expected to thrill, even with an unexpected frost or two. Plant them in well-drained dirt.
In considering what to plant in the spring, also bear in mind that annuals do not tolerate frost near as well as perennials. Most annuals do better if the soil they are to be planted in is brought indoors to warm up before sliding the delicate roots of the new annual flowers into them.
The trick in any year is to pay attention to the trends of that particular season. Some springs will be warm and yielding, and you can plant as early as possible for a nice spring bouquet. Other years, you will want to plant later to avoid disastrous freezing. The Farmers' Almanac and Mother Earth News both have great tools for this, as well as staying on top of the daily local weather forecast.
If you do have to wait, try planting in containers and placing them outside, covered in a safe spot until the weather evens out. Placing new transplants in warm sun and away from wind will help make them strong early.
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