Yesterday I received my first plant delivery for spring. You know, the ones you eagerly order over the long winter, while perusing numerous catalogs with colorful pictures of blooming flowers, while dreaming of what this year's garden will look like.
So, herein lies the question, to plant or not to plant?
Every catalog says that it will wait to deliver plants until the proper time to plant them, according to your "zone." Zone, of course, referring to your geological location on the U.S. map. Southeastern Pennsylvania is generally considered Zone 6. Some catalogs go even further to divide our Zone into sub-zones A and B. It's all just guessing anyway. I mean, I've planted many perennials that were supposed to be fine in Zone 6, only to find that they didn't come up again the following year -- no matter how much I mulched!!
This particular delivery contained a perennial geranium mix consisting of six different colors/varieties of geranium. If I have luck with these, I won't have to spend lots of cash on wave petunias in the future!!
Has anyone else had any luck with this particular plant? If so, any tips?
And still, the question remains, should I plant them now, even though it's still cold? Or should I put them in pots in the garage like I did with my early deliveries last year, only to find that half of them didn't like being transplanted later ... Truth be told, the last two years were not kind to spring, remaining pretty cool well into Mother's Day, which is the general date noted by gardeners in this area to be "safe" to plant. And forecasts are telling pretty much the same story this year.
At least for now, it's important to get these bare root plants out of their packaging and keep the roots a little damp until I make up my mind. I'll let you know ...