Weather or Not: Gardening Strategies for Successful Spring Planting

We had a way-hot April here in the Mid Hudson Valley, with temperatures in the 70's -- and 80's, believe it or not. This of course produced an explosion of new growth, tender young succulent stems and leaves, flowers well ahead of their time.

The plum blossoms were at least a week early. Just as well, given that the bees were, too.

And then wham! 25 degrees at 5AM on April 30th. Theoretically, that's normal. Frost-free date for this area is supposed to be May 10th. But there was nothing normal about the rest of April.

Result? The magnolia of course got trashed -- what was left of it -- although the plum and apple blossoms were for some reason spared. And to my everlasting surprise and delight, the Viburnum carlesii came through unscathed, every perfumed petal intact.

Viburnum carlesii

So that was some small consolation for the frozen trumpet lilies, a wisteria almost in bud, the Miscanthus 'giganteus,' which was already going great guns, and a beautiful Japanese maple, new last year, that has been my pride and joy. The frost also made mush of the bleeding hearts, and heaven help us a peony. Just one, and not too badly, but still.

A PEONY! Is nothing safe?

The answer, unfortunately is no. Most of the worry about global warming is focused on droughts, floods and overhot summers, but there's more to it than that. Unwanted warmth followed by very unwanted cold is going to be a fact of life from here on out. To deal with it:

• Plant new spring bloomers as though they were fruit trees: on a north slope, so heat comes late and frost drains away.
• When you remove winter mulch to avoid smothering fresh shoots, keep the mulch material nearby, so you can rake it back over them if/when frost threatens.
• Resist the temptation to prune the roses until you're sure frost is done. You don't want to encourage the new growth, and leaving the dead and weak stems in place helps keep frost-produced dieback above the wood you want to keep.
• Be sure you have a supply of floating row cover, aka spun-bonded crop-protector. It's much lighter than bedsheets, far easier to use, and although it's ungreenly made of plastic, it lasts practically forever if you take good care of it. Sources include Pinetree Garden Seeds and Johnny's Selected Seeds.
• This doesn't mean you can turn those sheets to rags; the row cover is only good down to about 28 degrees; if you fear even greater misery, use sheets. Either way, remember the purpose is mostly to trap ground heat; a hat that simply keeps frost from touching tops won't help unless the frost is very light.

Photos also by Leslie Land