Early Warm Weather May Be Bad for Your Garden

With temperatures 12 degrees above previous records last week, it may have felt like spring came a little earlier — but that’s not good news for your garden.

Some plants may be leafing out ahead of schedule, and if cold winds sweep past them as expected tonight, they risk shriveling up and not being in bloom as long as usual, according to Ken Graham, an owner of  in Inwood. To make matters worse, some people may have planted warm-weather plants already.

“The moral of the story is to just be patient with your planting,” he said. “All it takes is one cold night and all that work and money goes down the drain.”

If things are already planted, there’s not much you can do to help, other than burlap them, he said. And even if plants survive the cold, they can become stunted and never reach their full potential.

People should either educate themselves on the proper time to put out certain plants, or to ask someone at the store, Graham said. For now, home gardeners should stick with pansies, tulips, daffodils, alyssums and violas, which thrive in the cold.

“Just because stores are selling warm weather stuff — don’t buy it,” he said. “It’s not the right time.”

Flowers such as petunias and geraniums and vegetables including tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers are popular in springtime, but Graham said to stick to the rule of thumb and wait until May.

“Spring will be here,” he said. “Just be patient, it will come.”