Bunkey goofed again. He remembered last year trying to buy Gerber daisies for his mom for Mother’s day only to find out that he was too late and they were all sold out everywhere.

This year, he was going to get ahead of the crowd and buy his bedding plants early. He did. He bought a whole truck load of them as soon as the nurseries opened. Then he planted them.

Bad move. Many bedding plants are either tropical or semi-tropical. They can’t deal with temperatures below 50 degrees without damage. Here’s why. Cell membranes of plants like impatients, tomatoes and peppers are rich in lipids, a fancy name for fat. Above 50 degrees, the fat is liquid, as the temps go down, the fats become more and more hydrogen saturated. You know what hydrogenated fat is; Crisco.

Naturally, that thick stuff is not going to be able to circulate so your plants suffer chilling injury. What happens is that the membranes are damaged and will not function as they should. It will take a long time for the plant to recover, if it does, from this injury. The plants will have delayed growth and often the flower buds are so injured that they bloom much later than a smaller plant planted at the proper time.

So what should Bunkey do now with his truck load of bedding plants? First of all he needs to check to see if the plants are root bound. He should pop the plant out and if he sees a solid root ball, he needs to tease the roots apart and replant the plant in a larger pot.

Keep them at temperatures above 50 until they can be set out. He needs to take the time to harden them off when the temps are warmer.

That is — set them out for a hour in part shade and out of the wind. Gradually increase the time in the sun and breeze until they are out all day. Now he can plant them in his garden.

When you buy annuals you probably don’t want those on an outdoor bench. They may have already been damaged by chilling injury.

Go into the greenhouse for the best plants. If we get an Alberta clipper, cover your plants as you do in the fall. Remember, Crisco doesn’t circulate worth a darn.

If you have gardening questions, call the Master Gardeners at the Extension office. 218-998 8760. They have two long shelves of reference books and a file full of sheets from the Universities of Minnesota, Iowa and North Dakota.

You can also call the local radio station KBRF 1250 AM each Saturday from 8 to 9 with your question. We will be on from now until the school sports kick us off in September.

Bev Johnson is a master gardener for West Otter Tail County.

source ; www.fergusfallsjournal.com