INDIANAPOLIS — "There's nothing better than a little big of early spring warmth," said Pat from Sullivan Hardware and Garden on 13Sunrise this Sunday.
But Sullivan also warned you to not "jump the gun" on spring planting. Yes, hardy spring varieties are beginning to pop up in garden centers now, but the last hard freeze in Indiana occurs, on average, in the third week of April, and the final frost usually occurs around Mother's Day in May, so you need to choose your plants and flowers with those dates in mind.
Sullivan said you can still enjoy some outdoor color now, even though the soil temperature is still too cold for new grass seed to germinate. "It's okay to put it down," said Sullivan, "but I'm just telling you, when it says (on the bag) that it's gonna germinate in five-to-seven days, it ain't." He explained that last week, his soil thermometer read 36 degrees, and grass seed needs soil at 55 to 60 to germinate.
Plants are different. Pansies, for instance, are a cool weather crop that can withstand cooler temperatures in March. But if they freeze, the plant will survive, but its color will die off. Sullivan's advice is plant them in a pot or basket, rather than in the ground. That way, you can bring them inside when temperatures approach freezing at night.
Bear in mind that many plants in garden centers now were grown in warmer climates and trucked to Indiana. They will not be ready to survive in colder conditions if left outside and will likely die if exposed to freezing temperatures.
Watch Pat's full segment in the video player.