Quote:
Originally Posted by shcisamax
I just want to know if there is a reason not to plant all the perrenials now. Should I wait until March so they don't have to deal with the cold their first year. How cold will it get in December for the watering?
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Cold hardy perennials can go in now, but according to Month-by-Month by Tom MacCubbin there are some cold sensitive perennials which would do better by waiting to plant until March or April, these can be kept in pots and just bring them in to the garage when we are going to have a freeze, then plant them out early in the new year after all chance of a freeze is over and that gives them a year to get used to being in the ground. They may always die back in the winter, but their roots will be strong enough to come back when the ground warms. I bought two beautiful hibiscus last fall at Lowes for $10 a piece and kept them in pots until the early spring, now they are huge - 6ft tall. They will die back, but their root system is good so they will come back.
December is just beautiful here and you will have no problem watering all year. We do not get frost into the ground, only the surface will freeze, so watering is never ever a problem. In fact when we have had a heavy frost usually in the middle of January into early February I run the irrigation on the plants - you'll see that the citrus and strawberry growers run their irrigation all night during a freeze.
If you are concerned about gardening here just use your computer to search for information on your plant. There are loads of great informational sites.