There is such a wide selection of ornamental annuals with different cultural needs that many gardeners do not know when to plant that will be ready for spring.
Here are 10 best spring-flowering plants selection:
Pansy– A great early spring bedding plant to welcome you when you get home. Perfect for pots or hanging baskets by the entrance.
Daffodils– An early-flowering bulb that comes in so many shades of cheering yellow! Many consider them to be spring’s quintessential sign.
Tulip– Amazing upright flowers that come in a great variety of colors. While other plants are dormant, tulips appear best as a bold display inside the borders.
Crocus– beautiful purple flowers that push through the lawn in the best way. In spring, they are one of the first flowers to emerge.
Lilac– is a beautiful tree that produces delicate flowers in late spring. Many are scented, so cut off a few sprays and put in a vase to enjoy them in the house too.
Helleborus– is sometimes called the Lenten rose, and is a great flowering perennial for early color.
Grape hyacinths– these bulbs are popular and look best in combination with other bulbs, such as daffodils and tulips.
Iris– A late spring-flowering plant with long strap-like leaves, standing tall at the edge. Best planted in moist soil.
Fruit tree blossom– known as the finest spring flowers in the crab apple branches and flowering cherry trees.
Allium– is a late-flowering bulb that is commonly called the flowering onion. In spears held high on strong stems, its small purple flowers emerge.
Planting Schedule For Spring Plants
From late February through the first weeks of June, spring flowers show up. Some spring flowers must mature for several years before flowering, like the shrubby lilac, while others spring from bulbs that contain all the nourishment they need to bloom, like the eager crocus. If you don’t want to wait this long for your flowers to bloom then ask for some gardening advice from Tree Service Pearland.
The annual flowers vary in the cold weather and their frost resistance. Some annuals are cold resistant and can thrive in light frost. As for the ideal plants in spring, Cold tolerant annuals can be planted before the frost date, or specifically by Autumn season.
While some planting periods for some species may vary, planting time usually depends on whether you are planting seeds, seedlings, plants or bulbs for spring flowers.
For seeds ( Late summer – Fall )
- As soon as the seed pods ripen in summer, the ripened seeds from existing plants such as Calendula (Calendula officinalis) or California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) are readily planted.
- Other spring annuals, such as Johnny jump-ups, or pansies (Viola tricolor, V. cornuta), may reseed themselves throughout late summer and fall.
- After the first rains begin in early winter, seeds from store-bought packets of Columbine (Aquilegia spp,), sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) and other mid-to – late spring bloomers will be sown in fall.
Perennial ( divisions should take place in mid to late fall )
- Perennials like daylilies (Hemerocallis spp.), yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and bee balm (Monarda spp.) or natives such as Columbian windflower (Anemone deltoidea) and scarlet larkspur (Delphinium cardinale) grow from thick clumps that can be divided to make new plants.
Helpful tips: New plants need four to six weeks to establish roots before cold weather enforces dormancy. Do not forget to supplement your garden with proper nutrients too.
Plants
- Bare root perennials and very cold tolerant annuals such as pansies and violas can be transplanted as soon as garden soil is workable and soil temperature reaches 45°F.
Helpful tips: Soil temperatures between 45° F and 65° F are best for pansies. When soil temperatures are below 45 ° F, Pansy roots will not grow.
Cool tolerant plants such as nemesia, diascia, snapdragons, alyssum, osteospermum, mimulus, lobelia and petunias can be planted when soil warms to about 65°F (about two to three weeks before frost-free date).
Note: Tropical and subtropical warm crops such as alternanthera, angelonia, New Guinea impatiens, lantana, vinca, celosia, cleome, coleus, cosmos, gomphrena, ipomoea, melampodium, portulaca, sunflowers and zinnias should be planted after the threat of frost has passed in warm soils (minimum 68-70°F).
Naturally, these plants are sensitive to cold temperatures and are not a good choice for planting in the early spring.
Bulbs ( bulbs and rhizomes are best planted from late fall through early December )
- Spring-blooming bulbs are planted in the fall as a general rule.
- Gardeners in the coldest places should plant their bulbs in late August and September. Don’t wait for the calendar to say it is officially fall.
- Gardeners in minimum temperature can’t trust the calendar either. Wait until, particularly during the day, the temperatures begin to dip. That may be September, in some years, later in others. It’s better to err on the later side. If the ground has not frozen, you may continue planting into November and beyond.
- Bulbs planted in the warmest climates obviously are not going to get a chilling period, so these rules don’t apply. For the best results, you will need to buy pre-chilled bulbs.
Common spring bulb combinations which can be planted together include:
- Tulips, daffodils, and snowflakes.
- Bearded irises, Siberian irises, crocuses, and bluebells.
- Snowdrops, crocuses, and hyacinth.
Note: the bulbs in each combination are roughly the same size and can be planted at the same depth in the same hole.
Iris, including California natives Douglas (Iris douglasiana) and Del Norte Country iris (Iris innominata) grow from rhizomes, but are treated as bulbs.
From true bulbs it came all daffodils (nartcissus spp.) and alliums (Alliums spp.), including mountain onions (A. unifolium).
Mariposa lilies also produce bulbs (Calochortus luteus and C. monophyllus), but when started from bulblets or seeds, they grow best.