As I clean up the rest of my plants and garden in preparation to move, my plants are telling me they are ready for a new year of getting big and strong. Their shoots are perking up though the cold ground. My rhubarb, mint, chives, lovage and raspberry canes have visible growth.
We will be in the season of spring in Canada about March 20. Even with the title of Spring we can get some temperatures that are too cold for many plants.
We have things like cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) falling, that white flaky stuff is not snow, it can be the bane of many peoples seasonal allergies. The later into spring we get the white fluff covers all the roads in our area, you have to keep the windows closed or it blows in.
Plants that you might see on the West Coast in late winter still depend on the zone. The zones around me are 7 to 8b. What the plant hardiness zones mean is how cold an expected cold season will be. Annual minimum temperature extreme. So we could start planting cold tolerant plants like primrose plants, some variants of echinacea, marigolds, carrots, onions or beets.
Garden tips for each month in zone 8. We are still dipping below freezing some nights so the few plants I still have are close to the house undercover some are still covered at dusk.
It is so weird being in transition at the beginning of growing season Normally at this time of year I would have seeds starting to get ready to plant late spring early summer. I would have my greens (kale, lettuce, paisley spinach and mustard greens) covered in the community garden.
I took my seeds over to my family in zone 9a so they will start our seeds for the coming year.
If you are trying to grow plants from outside your zone you will need to simulate the requirement they would normally grow like my pineapple, it likes a warmer environment they need 6 hours of sunlight a day. In my climate it is too cold for them most of the year, sometimes on nice hot summer days I can treat it to some natural sun. So I grow them in the house under grow lights. They like humidity. I don’t have a humidifier running in the winter, we are in a temperate rainforest we would get mold.
Sadly I lost my other plant that I was so excited about, that was my curry tree, it got root rot and I’m still trying to revive it but I think it is a goner. I might buy another when I move or try them from seeds.
I would like to read about your spring or what March weather conditions are like for you. If you grow plants, what do you grow and when do you plant your seeds or plants? Happy planting!
This is where it starts 