Once the daytime temperature are at least 10 degrees Celsius, we can start to bring our plants outdoors. After all the time we have spent taking care of them, it is important to acclimatize them correctly or else they may not survive the change in temperatures.
Plants can be left outside once they are acclimatized and the nighttime temperatures do not
drop below 10 degrees Celsius.
BEDDING PLANTS
POV: You have gone to the greenhouse or garden center and have purchased your beautiful bedding plants. You are SO ready for Spring and want to plant them outside!
...BUT WAIT...
The weather is still chilly at night and the last thing that we want is for your plants to die!!! Please read these instructions below to ensure your plants will live to their fullest potential this Summer!
Do not leave your plants outside before the temperatures are above 10 degrees Celsius all the way through the night! Keep a close eye on the temperatures.
Your plants came from a greenhouse where they had the perfect conditions. It is important that you slowly acclimatize them to the outdoors.
At Garden of Eden Greenhouse & Gifts this year we have kept our greenhouse temperatures cooler to help this process and get the plants toughened up for our customers, but not all greenhouse are the same so acclimatizing them is key.
On days where the temperature is above 10 degrees, place your plants outdoors. Start by leaving them outside for two hours, then the next day leave them outside for three hours and so forth until you reach 8 hours. At this point (around middle of May or May long weekend) hopefully the temperatures will stay warm all the way through the night and you can leave them outside.
TRANSPLANTED SEEDLINGS
To move your transplanted seedlings outside keep in mind that they have not had to withstand wind indoors, and have not had direct sun yet. We need to toughen them up for mother nature by slowly introducing them to the outdoors. Follow this schedule to acclimatize them;
Day 1: 2 hours dappled light, no wind
Day 2: 3 hours dappled light, no wind
Day 3: 4 hours medium light, light breeze
Day 4: 5 hours medium light, light breeze
Day 5: 6 hours full light, breezy
Day 6: 7 hours full light, breezy
Day 7: 8 hours full light, strong winds
Pinching
A common step that people avoid while transplanting any of their plants is to pinch back the flowers and flower buds. When transplanting young plants into larger containers pinch all flowers and as many buds as possible. It is important for the plant to put as much energy into growing new roots. If the plant has to send energy in both directions (roots below and flowers above) it will take much longer for the transplant to become established. Keep pinching your flowers off at the point where the shoot grows out of the main stem for 14 days after
HOUSEPLANTS
Are you bringing your houseplants outside this summer? There are a few things you'll want to consider.
Your plants have been pampered inside all winter so make sure you prepare them for nature by acclimatizing them first. You can do this by setting them outside under the following schedule;
Day 1: 2 hours dappled light, no wind
Day 2: 3 hours dappled light, no wind
Day 3: 4 hours medium light, light breeze
Day 4: 5 hours medium light, light breeze
Day 5: 6 hours full light, breezy
Day 6: 7 hours full light, breezy
Day 7: 8 hours full light, strong winds
When choosing location, take into consideration their light requirements and place them in a location where they will receive that.
Maintain a regular watering and fertilizing schedule.
Monitor them for pests and diseases.
In the fall, bring them in slowly just like how we acclimatized them to the outdoors. It is also extremely important to treat them for fungus gnats, aphids and possibly spider mites or you may end up with an infestation in all of your houseplants.
Thank you for reading our blog, we hope you learned something and will have thriving beautiful plants all summer long! Have a great rest of your day.