Howto Do Things You Want To Do

As with most things in your garden, it depends what you are going to plant and what zone you live in!

Spring through to fall seems to be the best time to plant most things, but as always you will need to read the information regarding the plant you wish to grow. Let’s have a look at some categories of plants and see when planting is advised.

 

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Flowers – Spring, summer and fall are all good times to plant flowers, depending on the species. If you are keen on a garden filled with bulbs such as tulips, narcissus and irises then you need to be planting in the fall. Once the first frost has been, you can plant your flowering bulbs. These plants need the chill for best flowering results in the following spring. Peonies are another flowering plant that should be planted in the fall. This is the time they go dormant. Throughout the winter they will put down their roots allowing for dynamic blooms in the spring.
Annual flowers, such as marigolds, zinnias and begonias however, need to be planted in late spring or early summer. Enjoy the flowers over the summer months remembering that annuals only last one season, unless they are of the self-sowing variety.

Herbs and Vegetables – Early summer is the best time to plant your herb garden. Most herb gardens require at least eight hours of direct sun a day so plant your herb garden in a position to get enough sunlight. When planting your vegetables you will need to take note of the ideal temperature for each particular crop. There are cool season crops such as peas, which need to be planted when air temperatures are lower than for those plants that are warm season crops. Plants such as tomatoes like the heat and therefore must be planted in summer when all risk of frost has passed. When planting your vegetable seeds take note of the average last-season frost and plant after that. Ensure the soil temperature is not too cool and not too damp for the vegetables you wish to grow.

Trees and Shrubs – Trees can be planted in spring and fall. For successful tree growth, plenty of rain and cooler temperatures are advised. Some people prefer to plant their trees in the fall because this will give them more time to establish their root system and have more vigorous growth by the time spring comes around. And don’t forget to prune your trees at the end of winter! For shrubs, fall is the best time to plant. The cooler air with the still-warm soil makes for excellent growth conditions for most shrubbery and trees in pots.

Planting, therefore, can be done throughout a large part of the year. Some people even garden by the moon and invest in calendars telling them what to plant and not to plant on every day of the year. Whatever you decide to do, follow the directions and be aware of your temperate zone for successful planting of anything in your garden.

We hope you enjoyed this 4th of 5 episodes dealing with Sucessful Gardening All Year Long, and that it provided you with ideas you hadn’t thought of for your gardening all year round.

For much more information about Successful Gardening All Year, please visit our site at:

http://gardening.howto-you.com , where you will find an additional email list of ideas, as well as our book ‘Guide to Successfull Gardening All Year’

Thanx for being here!  See you in our next episode!