Acclimating Flowers to your Home Garden

Acclimating flowers and plants to your home garden is important whether planting seeds indoors or buying young plants. Annual flowers from the nursery need to be prepared before they like to be set in their new home for the season.

Using annuals in Minnesota or any of the colder planting zones requires what is termed as hardening off, or an acclimation period for the plants.

Don’t let this step scare you off. All it really means is that you slowly introduce the plants to your garden soil and your garden location. Kind of like introducing the new kitten to the family dog; slowly….. and advance a little at a time.

Bring the plants home and put the containers in a partial shady spot. Allow the soil to go a little drier between watering and gradually move the plants to receive more sunlight each day. In about a week, your plants will be ready for safe transplanting to their permanent home.

Please do not skip this step. You don’t want to go through the work and expense of buying and planting, only to have your new annuals shell shocked.

How to Acclimate Annual Flowers to your Home Garden