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conace55

Hardening off (annuals)

conace55
13 years ago

I'm a newbie at growing things from seed indoors, but have found much to my delight that it was relatively easy.

I have snapdragon seedlings coming out of my ears (thanks for the seeds Skybird). Do these need to be hardened off in the same way that tomatoes do?

I assume so, but wondered if they were hardier and didn't need as much time acclimating.

Connie

Comments (6)

  • Skybird - z5, Denver, Colorado
    13 years ago

    Do they have true leaves yet, Connie? Have you already planted them into bigger pots, or are you about to do that?

    Snaps can take a lot of cold! I always have some outside (they just come up all over the place) that are evergreen all winter. Sometimes plants that have bloomed that summer, and sometimes seedlings that have come up late summer. If theyÂve already been potted up for a few days or more, put them out in "some" sun today and then leave them out tonite (in a protected enough place that they wonÂt blow away!) covered with a single or double layer of old sheet. ItÂs only supposed to get into the low 40's, and if theyÂre covered a little, they should be fine. Tomorrow get them in more sun, and maybe cover them again for one more nite. Then put them in lots of sun and leave them out in your "protected place" without covering them. After that itÂs supposed to get colder again, so depending on how theyÂre looking after their introduction to the big wide world, and how cold itÂs supposed to get, either cover them again for a couple of the coldest nites, or just keep them against the house/in a corner/under a deckÂor somewhere that will ward off the coldest temps.

    I think after the first three nites out, they should be fine, but I donÂt know just how big they are or the other variables that could affect them. But they ARE very cold "resistant!"

    And, yeah, snaps are "annuals," but they fall into that strange class of annuals that tend to come back the next yearÂnot only from seed, but also some of the original plants will survive to "live another year!"

    Post if you have any questions and IÂll try to keep an eye on RMG and get back to you right away, but IÂm in the process of planning two unexpected road trips, so I might not see it till later. Will check in before bedtime if not before!

    When you plant them in the ground, put them where you want more! Wherever they are, youÂll get moreÂwhether you want them or not!

    Happy spring,
    Skybird

    P.S. Starting seedsÂand most other thingsÂarenÂt nearly as hard, OR scary, to do after you do them as they were before you did them! ItÂs all in the "trying" with gardeningÂas with most things in life!

  • digit
    13 years ago

    Connie, I don't think that one can assume that because they can take more cold that they don't need a fair amount of time in the hardening off process. But certainly, snapdragons aren't as tender as eggplants, for example.

    They can take colder weather so snaps can begin the process earlier than just about anything else. They should be protected from bright sunshine and wind for several days. Then, they can be moved to the full sun but I bring them in at night. . . for awhile.

    I've set out 6 flats of snaps and have a couple more - where they might go, I haven't a clue. Poor things are taking a beating from the wind today, I'm sorry to say, but they were hardened off for about 2 weeks before going out in the open ground. It will probably freeze as soon as this wind stops but the snaps have already been thru 2 light frosts.

    Steve

    Here is a link that might be useful: How do I begin to harden off my little seedlings?

  • conace55
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks for the responses Skybird and Digit. I think that I'll begin the process with about half of them just in case something goes wrong and then continue with the other half in a couple of weeks.

    And to think I was paying for annuals in a six pack before this. Next year will be a sea of annuals!

    Connie

  • digit
    13 years ago

    There you go, Connie!

    If you have the indoor conditions for starting them . . .

    I figured out my costs for snapdragons back in '08. Your enthusiasm prompted me to looked it up.

    I bought 3 packets of snapdragon seed for $8.50 and grew 7 flats with 72 plants in each flat, so that's more than 500 plants. The seed cost for each snapdragon plant was less than 2¢.

    Many other annuals are probably comparable.

    Steve's digits

  • digit
    13 years ago

    I sure hope these guys were adequately hardened off:

    These are snapdragons covered with 1/8th of an inch of ice this morning.

    The Weather Service changed their forecast after I went to bed last night. But, I was ready for 'em -- up before 3am!

    Supposedly, it was going to be a 30°F morning but when I checked, the forecast had been changed to a low of 27°! Off I went - arriving at the garden 20 miles away, setting up the sprinkler pipe and running water by 4:40. An hour and half later, I had everything covered with ice!

    Weather Underground has a volunteer about 1 mile from the garden. His thermometer showed a low of 26.8°.

    My theory is that if I don't break the plants, ice is better than nothing. I don't know tho' . . . for sure, it would have been better to just drive the frost off them.

    There was a good deal of reflection off the ice and the light was very flat across the ground. That may explain the almost total lack of green in the photo. It wasn't quite that bad. The asters had suffered the most from the wind the last 2 days - yeah, big double whammy, gusts up to 59mph followed by frost. We'll see, the aster leaves were still alive when I left at sunrise . . .

    I've got almost enuf aster plants to replace them all. Not too many snaps tho'.

    Oh, and if you think that ground has a lot of rocks - Ha! - wait until I've run that sprinkler more than 90 minutes out of the season. Then, you'll see rocks! . . . gallows humor.

    digitS'

  • digit
    13 years ago

    Frosts every morning since but that is supposed to be at an end up here.

    About 20% of the asters were pulled and replaced. A few of them were dead, dead, dead . . . but most were just badly burned with more than a leaf or 2 were gone, they were pulled and replaced.

    Only about a dozen snapdragons were yanked. I still have plenty of plants of each that I could move out there.

    That heavy frost even killed a fair number of sweet onions! They were beyond the sprinkler. Since they were set very close together, the event shouldn't make much of difference in harvesting the bulbs. Cuts down on scallions, tho'.

    The warm-season plants are raring to go! Shouldn't they get a chance for their Run For The Glory soon?

    Steve

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