My goodness, you must have a large space for all that dahlias?

My dalhias have been outdoors for a couple of weeks now. I guess I'll have to cover them up with cloches to protect them.

My Dahlias and Cannas are out and planted as well

I did not start them indoors though, rather planted the tubers outside and they are just nicely coming up I think the plants are stronger when grown this way and will take a bit of frost even. Seems even if the tips get frost, new shoots come up quite quickly

Some things I will cover.
I lost a number of Brugmansia over winter, so the few that I have out there, I greatly treasure and will cover

Which day is the frost to occur I noticed talk of frost this weekend but not the date of.

In Barrie, I believe they are talking Saturday night, Sunday night, Monday night and Wednesday night. We are the same in Rockwood. All around the new moon. Surprising influence that orb of romance has on us. :)

Good luck. I have to go and bring in my plants now. ... 45 minutes of work.

I took my chances and planted my veggies out anyway, but am covering them just in case

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My dahlia on potted on the front porch

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Nice healthy looking dahlia, Glaswegian.

They say that plastic sheeting is not the best for covering plant, as they don't breath, and the condensation on the plastic will freeze onto the plant leaves. They recommend cotton or some sort of fabric. I always use old sheets ... sometimes used as drop clothes for painting, etc. I brought all my potted plants inside for the night, and will cover my tree peonies and some other budding plants for the night.

Yep a chilly night expected in my part of Ontario too. I've put the annuals I just bought (because they were on sale) into the garage for safe keeping overnight along with some other tender plants. Stay warm Ontario.

When do you think it is safe to plant? I live in the Ottawa Valley and they are saying -4 tonight with frost. I want to plant my seeds in my vegie garden soon. I'm from Northwestern Ontario so I'm not sure what the planting rules are. Up there I never planted anything before June 1st.

I don't usually plant out before June 1st either, and I am more southerly than you are. My dad always stated that one could not plant before May 24. However, he often admitted that there were some frosts before June 1st also.

I play it safe.

I stick with the May 24 or later date to plant tender annuals. I think that lots of people are thinking that because it is the long weekend (earlier date than usual) they can plant. They associate the long weekend with May 24.

Don't go so much by the calendar date, although I would definitely not plant anything tender (especially anything raised in a greenhouse) before May 24, or even June 1, if you aren't prepared to cover them. Check the long-term weather forecast for your area, and plant accordingly. The plants don't know what the calendar date is. Even hardy perennials can be damaged, if they were grown in a hoop house or greenhouse, instead of in the ground. If you notice at the nurseries, some perennials will be much more advanced in their growth cycle, than the same type of plant in your garden. Big plants, especially if actually flowering, sell better than smaller, compact ones, even if the latter may be the healthier ones.

When we lived outside of Saskatoon, I was always told never to plant until after the next full moon after the May long weekend. The next full moon is June 7th. That's getting kind of late into summer already.

I think I will plant at the end of the month and cover when necessary. Last night we had frost as forecasted.

Even "tropical" Niagara-on-the-Lake had frost this morning. Brrr.

So far my dahlias are doing well in their present location. Interestingly, my perennials & some annuals which I had started indoors are also doing well. I had mulched them heavily and some I covered with cloches made from soda bottles.

Ianna