TROY, Mich. (WXYZ) — Even though Spring is here, April can be one of the most ever-changing weather months on the calendar, which can be a headache for gardeners.
I spoke with George Papadelis, the owner of Telly's Greenhouse in Troy, for gardening tips and insight on when to buy plants and start planting as the temperatures fluctuate this month.
Watch Mike's conversation with George in the video player below
Mike Taylor: All right, so when is the best time to get started? You know, the old saying is like, 'oh, don't start until after Mother's Day', right? Is there some truth to that, or can you get started now?
George Papadelis: Oh no, no, there absolutely is some truth to that. Most of what people put into the garden is frost-sensitive, so you have to wait until our last frost date, which is typically mid-May. So a lot of people wait till after Mother's Day or maybe even as late as the end of May, and then they can go and plant. You don't have to worry about frost so much, but there's a lot of stuff you can plant now. Some vegetables that you can plant now, the cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce, peas could be planted early. And as far as flowers go, things like pansies and snapdragons and a few other things could be in the ground right now. All of our pansies were outside last night, and it was in the low 30s.
MT: How long can plants last out of the soil? And that means if you pick a plant up and say your soil is not ready, but OK, maybe you're driving by, and you're like, 'you know what, I'm going to pick this up because I'm -- here.'
GP: All the plants that people don't buy today will be here tomorrow and the next day and the next day. So all we do is water them and put them in a sunny spot. And so a lot of people will put them in front of the garage, and if they see the forecast is getting a little questionable, they'll move them into the garage for the evening, move them back outside the following morning. So while you're prepping your soil or waiting for the weekend to come up or whatever it is, you can protect them that way. Water them regularly, give them some sun, and bring them inside if there's a threat of really severe cold weather.
