When can we start???!!

My new coco fiber liners get delivered today for the planters we hang from the deck rails, and I usually put in impatiens along my driveway and begonias in the front.  Is it OK to start or is it still too cold? 

I understand your eagerness, but It is still too early. To be safe, wait until Mother’s Day.  Here’s a link to Almamac.com’s frost calendar which forecasts 4/27 as last frost date:

https://www.almanac.com/gardening/frostdates/NJ/Maplewood

WkngMom said:
My new coco fiber liners get delivered today for the planters we hang from the deck rails, and I usually put in impatiens along my driveway and begonias in the front.  Is it OK to start or is it still too cold? 

Maybe one pot of Pansies on your deck for color???

Pansies only. One night below 40 will do the begonias and the impatiens in.

I pruned roses today, and did some general garden clean up. Cold, but it felt good.  Eager too!

I'm out too. Pruning a giant butterfly bush. Put up my hummingbird feeder. Admiring my daffodils. My car steered itself over to Metropolitan Plants. Not much this weekend but with next weekend pushing into the high 60s I'm pretty sure the inventory will start arriving. Other than my wild variety of daffodils I'm seeing columbines pushing up, as well as bleeding hearts, salvia, bearded iris and monkshood. Forsythia is spilling over the old stone retaining wall. Yup, I've got spring fever.

This is the right time to prune roses (forsythia is blooming).  Most other tasks have to wait a little though.

Thanks, Sweetsnuggles, for the Farmer's Almanac link. It's good advice and I'll wait till Mother's Day as suggested. I made my way over to Home Depot Sunday and definitely saw tons of pansies, but contained myself and left with only some liquid rose treatment to try to address the black spots my "knock out" roses. See you all in the yards in a few weeks!

Just looked at 10 day forecast.  Looks like we are done with frost.

However, forecasting the weather is subject to a high degree of uncertainty, so . . .

For future reference, we are in gardening zone 6 B.   The last frost date is May 1.  If you plant anything except pansies before them, be prepared to move them inside if we have an extra cold night.

Sarah,

I know, but in many years the last actual frost date is somewhat earlier.  Those who consider starting before May 1st must look at long term forecasts and the recent weather pattern.

Last year, in Califon (at least one zone cooler than Maplewood), I moved my cool growing orchids outside on April 22nd, and kep them outside till Nov 20th.

I am currently watching the forecasts to see when I can start the outdoors season this year.

tomcat said:
Sarah, I know, but in many years the last actual frost date is somewhat earlier.  Those who consider starting before May 1st must look at long term forecasts and the recent weather pattern. Last year, in Califon (at least one zone cooler than Maplewood), I moved my cool growing orchids outside on April 22nd, and kep them outside till Nov 20th. I am currently watching the forecasts to see when I can start the outdoors season this year.

Well ... recent weather patterns would not encourage early planting to my way of thinking.

For rose pruning can you aggressively cut back the bushes or should you be more precise?  I have two older bushes in varying stages of health and they have grown a bit unkempt.  I would like to cut them back and shape them up.

wildflower suggestions welcome.  We resolved to cut back on the grass by planting wildflowers.  It worked very nicely in our backyard but a plot we planted in the front did not  fare so well. Would like to beef it up with more seeds this spring.

DannyArcher said:
For rose pruning can you aggressively cut back the bushes or should you be more precise?  I have two older bushes in varying stages of health and they have grown a bit unkempt.  I would like to cut them back and shape them up.

The normal recommendation is to cut roses back to a few (3-6) canes, about 12-18" long each.  The idea is to select canes sorta evenly distributed, so that the new shoots will form a nicely shaped bush.

tomcat said:

DannyArcher said:
For rose pruning can you aggressively cut back the bushes or should you be more precise?  I have two older bushes in varying stages of health and they have grown a bit unkempt.  I would like to cut them back and shape them up.

The normal recommendation is to cut roses back to a few (3-6) canes, about 12-18" long each.  The idea is to select canes sorta evenly distributed, so that the new shoots will form a nicely shaped bush.

Thanks very much for the reply and advice.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

sarahzm said:
For future reference, we are in gardening zone 6 B.   The last frost date is May 1.  If you plant anything except pansies before them, be prepared to move them inside if we have an extra cold night.

tomcat said:
Sarah,
I know, but in many years the last actual frost date is somewhat earlier.  Those who consider starting before May 1st must look at long term forecasts and the recent weather pattern.
Last year, in Califon (at least one zone cooler than Maplewood), I moved my cool growing orchids outside on April 22nd, and kep them outside till Nov 20th.
I am currently watching the forecasts to see when I can start the outdoors season this year.

 On the 2012 map  http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/#  most (if not all) of South Orange/Maplewood was probably on the 7A side of the border line.  I imagine orchidists, like rosarians here, would say we are  "6B-7A". 

Just looked at 10 day forecast on www.weather.com.

                                           MPW/SO       Flemington

Tonights low is forecast as:       33F                 31F

Fri, Sat & Sun night lows   :     36-39F            32-36F

Monday thru May 3rd lows  :    40-50F             39-49F

The Flemington column covers the location for my orchids.  I will take the cool growing plants outside on Tuesday.

bub said:
wildflower suggestions welcome.  We resolved to cut back on the grass by planting wildflowers.  It worked very nicely in our backyard but a plot we planted in the front did not  fare so well. Would like to beef it up with more seeds this spring.

Does the front get full sun?

Do you have many deer or woodchucks? 

dickf3 said:

sarahzm said:
For future reference, we are in gardening zone 6 B.   The last frost date is May 1.  If you plant anything except pansies before them, be prepared to move them inside if we have an extra cold night.

 

tomcat said:
Sarah,
I know, but in many years the last actual frost date is somewhat earlier.  Those who consider starting before May 1st must look at long term forecasts and the recent weather pattern.
Last year, in Califon (at least one zone cooler than Maplewood), I moved my cool growing orchids outside on April 22nd, and kep them outside till Nov 20th.
I am currently watching the forecasts to see when I can start the outdoors season this year.

 On the 2012 map  http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/#  most (if not all) of South Orange/Maplewood was probably on the 7A side of the border line.  I imagine orchidists, like rosarians here, would say we are  "6B-7A". 

 Hardiness zones are based on the minimum average temperatures.   7A minimum is 0 (zero) degrees.    6B is -5 degrees.    While the average may be higher, recently we had two winters in a row with almost a week each of below zero temperatures, so for now, just to be safe, I would  stick with 6B.  

I've seen two definitions for the last frost date.  One is the AVERAGE last date of a killing frost.  The other is the last possible date for a killing frost which is May 1.   I've lived here for 33 years and I've never seen a frost as late as May 1.   But over the years we have had a few in the last week in April.     I would have no problem planting annuals in pots that could be brought in, but for planting annuals in the ground, just to be safe,  I always waited until after May 1.  

For years, until I became a realtor and got crazy busy during gardening season, from April through August I spent as much time in my garden as I did in my house........   Now I'm moving to Florida and I'm trying to learn about gardening in zone 10A.  I will be digging up patios and driveway to create an oasis..  So far I plan to plant Bougainvillea, Roses, clematis, Palms, An avocado tree, a caladium border and pineapple and maybe bamboo.     I already have  two giant blooming gardenia bushes ( outside) and a mango tree.  

Morganna said:

bub said:
wildflower suggestions welcome.  We resolved to cut back on the grass by planting wildflowers.  It worked very nicely in our backyard but a plot we planted in the front did not  fare so well. Would like to beef it up with more seeds this spring.

Does the front get full sun?
Do you have many deer or woodchucks? 

The front probably gets more sun than back.   The truth is, we did a better, more careful job in the back.  For the front, we had less of the seed we used in the back and didn't clear out the plot as thoroughly.  It's weedy and has clumps of grass. We also added in some wildflower packets we got from rangers in a Nat'l Park.  I don't know if that stuff is any good.  I want to add more seeds.  I guess we'll buy more from the Toadshade lady.  That stuff is expensive.

bub said:

Morganna said:

bub said:
wildflower suggestions welcome.  We resolved to cut back on the grass by planting wildflowers.  It worked very nicely in our backyard but a plot we planted in the front did not  fare so well. Would like to beef it up with more seeds this spring.

Does the front get full sun?
Do you have many deer or woodchucks? 

The front probably gets more sun than back.   The truth is, we did a better, more careful job in the back.  For the front, we had less of the seed we used in the back and didn't clear out the plot as thoroughly.  It's weedy and has clumps of grass. We also added in some wildflower packets we got from rangers in a Nat'l Park.  I don't know if that stuff is any good.  I want to add more seeds.  I guess we'll buy more from the Toadshade lady.  That stuff is expensive.

 The Toadshade Lady? Sounds like a wonderful character from the Hobbit. Does she live in Mirkwood?

Lot's of seeds for sale at Metropolitan Plants in WO. I'm so in love with Icelandic Poppies and they are hard to find so I've started them in peat pots as the don't transplant well. They like sun and deer pass them by. I have so many deer and woodchucks I have to be quite creative with my plantings.  I'd love a field of poppies just like the one in the Wizard of Oz.

Coneflowers come back easily and freely seed. Despite their reputation for being deer resistant, they did fine when I planted grown flowers but the next year the deer nibbled them when they were first coming back. They truly do draw goldfinches and for that reason I'll struggle to get them going again.

  I'd love a field of poppies just like the one in the Wizard of Oz.

 This plus a view of the Emerald City in the distance.

bub said:

  I'd love a field of poppies just like the one in the Wizard of Oz.

 This plus a view of the Emerald City in the distance.

 And ruby red slippers!

The opiod crisis in Oz

bub said:
The opiod crisis in Oz

 Well admittedly this isn't Kansas, Toto, but it was the best I could get going. As for a view of Emerald City, I can see NYC from my window. Wait, didn't Sarah Palin say that?

Checking www.weather.com for Maplewood, from tonight through May 5th, night temps are predicted to be above 40F.  That is good enough to plant Petunias, and generally move ahead with spring plantings.

tomcat said:
Checking www.weather.com for Maplewood, from tonight through May 5th, night temps are predicted to be above 40F.  That is good enough to plant Petunias, and generally move ahead with spring plantings.

 There wasn't much out at Metropolitan yet. I was looking for their huge selection of hanging petunias to signal to the hummingbirds that my feeder is up and the café is open.

I'm going to pot some bulbs for the porch hoping the deer won't snag them. Tuberoses for the fragrance and crocosmia for the hummingbirds.

Crocosmia:  While good for the hummers, they tend to become invasive after a few years.

tomcat said:
Crocosmia:  While good for the hummers, they tend to become invasive after a few years.

 I have to keep them in pots as the minute the first one bloomed last year either a deer or woodchuck ate the flower. I'm hoping they will be safe on the porch. If they climb up the steps, I'll just give up. I just loved the red. It was brilliant.

Last year I also sent away for Lobelia Cardinalis and it had a vibrant red as well. I don't see anything coming up yet this year. It took a long time to flower, very late summer early fall, but when it started it continued for many weeks.