Preparing for spring planting this season as we gear up for seve - WMBFNews.com, Myrtle Beach/Florence SC, Weather

HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) - Spring is ready to bloom. Tuesday marks the first day of this year's spring season, although parts of the country are still experiencing winter-like conditions, and we're gearing-up for our own severe weather today.

As we prepare for severe weather heading into our first day of this year's spring season, it raises the question: when is it safe to plant without the threat of a freeze?

Although spring has sprung on the calendar, the winter weather might not be completely gone just yet. Therefore, those who may already have spring fever might want to take extra care of your plants.

Experts say if you have new seedlings planted in the ground right now, cover them up. Manager of Southland Nursery, Cindy Lee, said newly planted annuals like sunflowers and pansies should be covered with something light and thin -  like paper, a sheet or towel.

Lee advises not to use plastic. She said it holds the condensation in, especially if there is a downpour or rain on top of the seedlings, as it could smash them. Lee said your gardens should be okay this time of the year as long as there aren't any major frost threats.

“So right now, with the cold weather coming on Wednesday, you want to make sure… there’s actually no stress this time around. It’s not going to drop down cold enough. But if you planted any of your bedding plants, you probably want to cover those up especially those geranium’s… if you got a little bit of spring fever and you decided to plant right away. You want to cover those up, but every other thing you have will hold up just fine this time around. The cold isn’t going to last that long,” said Lee.

She also said Azaleas are very resilient and will maintain their stature, but may lose the blooms. Lee said the most popular plants right now are camellias and flowering fruit trees. She said those may lose some blossoms on the plant, but not to stress because they'll eventually come back.

Lee tells us the latest weather has affected their nursery this year, and is hopeful the cold weather comes to an end soon.

“It’s kind of hard on your plants. It’s taken a toll on some of our nursery plants. Just cut back your bound and again hold off on pitching anything because there’s still hope a lot of your plants will rebound back,” said Lee.

Lee said despite the cold weather, there shouldn't be too much of an issue for plants during this time of year, and said the most important thing to do is keep them covered.
 

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