How early do you plant out?

14 years ago

I will be potting up some of my Dahlias in the next few days to give to friends and such, but don't necessarily want to pot up the ones going in the gardens if I can skip the step.

My logic is this... We haven't had frost in over a week and no frost is in the forecast for the next week. Lots of perennials which usually show up with warm soil temps have broken ground - Echs, Asclepias, Buddleias, etc. so the ground has warmed-up. Should be OK, right?!?

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Comments (7)

keriann_lakegeneva
14 years ago
It is more the soil temp then air temp.

I have planted some of mine in zone 5b as part of an experiement already. But I usually wait till 5.15 or so to plant out and even so, I will need to cover them a few nights if it gets too chilly. Mother nature is always up to tricks with late season frosts!

Keriann~
ceh2101
14 years ago
Hi Tiffy.

We have not had a frost in several weeks in the 6/7 section of Massachusetts, and I still have to worry about having frost blankets in case a frost crops up in May. Indeed, I getting the frost blankets ready for tomorrow night when the temp is going down to at least 36, maybe lower. Since I am 'risking it' here by planting plants, I wonder if you are risking more because you are in a colder zone and you are planting tubers.

I am all for starting earlier than conventional wisdom, but given all the factors, including the ground temp and the potential for more frost, I would think you would have better putting them in pots for a couple of weeks.

That said, Sid's Dahlias in Nova Scotia has some wisdom about spring frosts on its web page:

"A late spring frost will kill young sprouts, but they will usually sprout again."
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flowergirl70ks
14 years ago
Mine are in the ground and starting to come up. Soil temp was 60 when I planted last week.
tiffy_z5_6_can
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks everyone. It's been drizzling and showering here for the last couple of days and coupled with work and gardening meetings, I have been forced to put my plan on hold. All things happen for a reason so I guess it's not quite time to plant, eh? :O)

Hoping to get some nice Dahlia tubers this weekend from the Nova Scotia Dahlia Society annual sale. Goodies are being sold early Saturday and I am looking for some medium sized orange, peach, and lilac colours. Looking forward to expanding my 'repertoire'!!
oscarthecat
14 years ago
Don't get in a rush to plant early. Take your time and enjoy some late bloom. Steve S
brendainnj
14 years ago
How about container planting...I've planted my dahlias yesterday, then last night it went down to 34. One pot I was able to bring inside but the other I tried to cover as best I could. They looked a little droopy this morning--will they recover? What's the best way to cover? The pot is pretty heavy to move. I had coleus in the same pot, they definitely look gone. I don't know what I was thinking, just too excited for warm weather I guess. I'm in zone 6, NW NJ.
anna_lisa
13 years ago
Every year in Quebec i plant mine early mine have been in the ground for about a week now I check them everyday so far so good they even pass the snow we got last week if we get a frost it will be a ground frost and some of mind are just about one inch high so they should be ok
Anna