Well, I understand that we will have another cold spell. I'd say wait till June before setting them out and when you are ready, harden them first before putting them out all day. By the way, best keep these plants on a covered porch.,

Great, thanks for the advice ianna. I can't wait till I can take the plants out. I have another question. I think you had answered one of my previous question regarding buying hardy shrubs in another form. I stepped into a nursery and couldn't resist picking up two plants that I found. One is a bleeding heart and the other is a creeping sedum. The lables said that they were both perennials, would you be able to advise me if I can just put mulch arround them and leave them in the ground for winter or do they need and special winter care? The lables gave planting instruction but no info on how to take care of them in winter. Thanks again for your help!!

I have a couple of cultivars of Jasmine and a huge 6' tall tropical Hibiscus.

The Hibiscus was moved outside Sunday, and unless it's forecast to drop below 5C it stays out and does fine (I do wait until average lows are at least 8-9C before putting it out). If the weather turns cool and it's near 5C the first week after I put it out, I will toss a couple of dollar store shower curtains I've 'knitted' together over it. It is right next to a south facing brick wall though, and that helps a lot.

I have been putting my Jasmines out during the day for about three weeks now (it's been unusually warm this spring), but they will come inside for the night if it's 10C or lower.

No matter when you put your plants out, you will not be able to put them in full sun for a couple of weeks. You have to slowly acclimate them or the leaves will burn. Once acclimated, both my Jasmines and Hibiscus take full hot sun all summer long and do well - they do need to be watered well though. Neither one will tolerate drying out.

About your other questions - both bleeding heart and creeping sedum are easy perennials. Plant the bleeding heart in a partially shady to shady spot and the sedum prefers a sunnier, drier location. Both will overwinter very well in your zone with no special precautions. Mulch is helpful for the bleeding heart as it will help conserve moisture and that plant does not like it too dry. I would advise against mulching the sedum - too much moisture and it'll rot.

BP

Like what BP says both plants are easy to grow. Bleeding hearts will start going dormant in summer and so don't worry if it starts to look yellowish around then. Sedums are so easy to take care of. - so easy that in fact, that you may eventually need to cut it severely to keep it in check. In your location, I don't think it's necessary to mulch a bleeding heart, but if you wish to do so, go ahead. Just remember it will begin to grow dormant in summer and come up again in spring.