With spring finally arriving, gardens around the country are beginning to blossom and Britain’s best loved gardener Monty Don insists it is time to show our plants some ‘tough love’
The veteran BBC gardener said: “April is the first month filled with light. The days are longer than the nights and growing ever longer every single day. The sun, when it breaks through the cloud, has warmth in it.
“April glows with rich emerald green of new foliage like the most wonderful stained glass. Even the rain is less depressing, coming in showers rather than days or downpour.”
So while many bulbs that were planted weeks if not months ago have begun popping their heads above ground and managing quite nicely what of those still cowering in greenhouses or sheds?
Monty says it’s time to be brave now and bring out the tender plants and keep our fingers crossed the frosts are behind us.
He said:, “Although there is still a risk of frost in my garden – and especially so the further north you go – it is time to start bringing out tender plants.”
Tender plants such as Fuchsias, citrus, Brugmansias, bananas, Agapanthus or cannas, are a few he mentions that can come outside now.
He says it’s time to gradually ‘acclimatise’ these fragile plants to the springtime elements before you can add them to a pot or garden border.
So although you might be hesitant to risk bringing such sensitive plants into the unpredictable British weather, Monty highlights the importance of encouraging this change of environment for them.
Some half-hardy plants such as zinnia, cosmos and sunflowers, can withstand a light frost or two anyway.
You can begin the process by simply opening the greenhouse door on a warm day to allow more airflow throughout the environment.
Then begin moving them outside to a south-facing, sheltered spot in the garden for a few hours at a time each day
“It is not so much the absolute temperature as the variations between night and day that they must become used to,” he says.
Monty recommends putting the plants outside in a sunny yet sheltered spot and having some horticultural fleece to cover them should it be forecasted for a cold night. Old towels are just as good and a cheaper alternative.
He does however continue to stress how key it is for these plants to get used to certain changes in temperature as well as being exposed to the wind and the rain from which they’ve been shielded for the past few months.
Monty recommends leaving the plants in these newly exposed positions for at least a week or two before finally moving them to their final position so you don’t risk a final freak frost getting to them.