gbig....I was just out in the garden this morning and have plants to get in, but after being out there, just walking around for fifteen minutes at 7am, I made a decision not to do any work in the garden today. It is very very humid and hot already. The plants will be fine in the shade and even a week is not a lot. Assuming some of them are small containers, you may have to water them even in the shade, if it gets that hot. Just keep checking them.

Prairie Moon is right. Letting your new plants hang out in the shade for a few days is a good idea. While I know they suggest planting them asap if they've been through the mail during warm weather they could use a change to recover first. Planting does disturb the roots and that on top of the trip through the mail plus heat could be hard on your plants. I really can't count the times I bought something and then let it sit in its nursery pot for a month without ill effects. Just keep them watered until the weather breaks.

Kate

We're supposed to get up to 102 here today in North Carolina...unheard of for early June. Anyway...

I would keep them in the small pots in shade for a week or so. Don't let the little pots dry out, keep the soil moist.

If I HAD to plant here right now, I would wait until 8:00PM after the sun sets so that they could at least have some relief overnight and the watering would last overnight. In cases of extreme heat/humidity, water at the base of the plant, not overhead onto the foliage (unless it is something that collects water from the foliage).

Planting in the morning here right now would be certain death from the sun during the day.

That said...it also depends upon what kinds of plants you have. If you have something very delicate, post the type and ask someone with the same plant.

Cameron

Isn't the internet great? I get up early morning, post a question and come back two hours later and have three replies to my post! That's great, thank you! I will wait until things cool off to plant them.

I have some 6-packs that I didn't get in the ground in the last 2 weeks like I was supposed to and we all know how fast 6packs dry out, especially in a heat wave! I put them in the garage (shade) and I'm going to pot them up in larger pots today. THen I will keep them out until I can plant them.

Well, I'm in the "I need to do it, so I do it" camp. No, it's not the best time, and would be better to wait until the temps drop, but if today is the only day you have to get the stuff planted, then plant. Make sure the plants are moist after you plant them, and stick a cardboard box over the top with a few holes for ventilation (or rose cones, or lawn chairs - whatever) to protect them from direct sun and wind (it's windy here today). They'll be fine with a little post-planting TLC.

I have to plant annuals this afternoon. I don't want to, not because I'm worried about the plants, but because I'm worried about ME, but it has to get done today or it won't get done in the foreseeable future, my schedule is jam-packed, even through next weekend. So I have to just suck it up and do it. That's life....

I have to plant my Bluestone order today and tomorrow (temps in mid 90s) because I'm having surgery on my right hand on Tuesday (to remove a rose thorn!). I'm going for evening planting.

Another who says get them into the ground and keep them shaded. I use a couple of lawn chairs with something strung between. I have even set up a hose with a mist nozzle on it, wired it to a pole and let it run for a week or so.
Linda C

Why not pot them up and grow them out and plant in the fall when the weather conditions are more favorable? That way you are planting at a more hospitable time with plants that have roots that will be much more suited for growth when the soil temps. cool down!

While I love Bluestone plants, I find that the later you get them, the more root bound they are. Early shipments--mid April, settle in immediately, but by the time mid-May rolls around, they take a lo-o-o-ng time to kick in. By now, it's even worse. I'd definitely pot them up into larger pots, keep them where I could protect them from the hottest sun while they get established, and plant later in the season when they're healthier.

I always shade every single thing I plant for 5-7 days after I plant it any way. I use lawn chairs, upturned large plastic pots, with a brick under the edge to give it enough air circulation. I have even used a step ladder with a tarp for a large shrub. Checking every day for moisture. I purchased 3 roses just about this time last year and planted them as usual, then we had a heat wave for the whole next week and they did horrible. They didn't look good the whole summer. And they had been potted roses. Even my established plants had a hard time with the change in temps yesterday. We went from a consistent 50s @ night to 60-70 during the day to mid 90s and many in the yard were wilting in the sun, despite just having two days of rain.

So, I agree you can do it if you have to, but if you can wait for the temps to break, you may be better off.

pm2

My little Bluestone cell paks along with 4 larger potted plants are all sitting in the shade waiting to go in the ground later in the week.

It's not only concern for the plants wilting in the heat, I'm also thinking about me wilting! Some of the pants need great drainage, for example the lavender I bought from Bluestone. That means digging out an 18" by 18" by 12" deep area of clay (about 80 pounds of soil), mixing it with 80 pounds of sand and then backfilling the hole with that mixture. That's hard work when it's cooler, impossible when it's supposed to hit 95 and humid.

My shifts at work vary every week. So, I can't "just plant" when I want to. Like the heat wave... I have to go out and water everything but sometimes I'm not able to do so when I want to. So, I play it by ear. If I can keep up with it for a few days, then I plant. If I will not be able to work on it for a few days, I hold off till I know I can spend quality time.

I was just dieing to stop at a greenhouse on the way home today but I have too many other projects that need finished before going outside and gardening. I do fit (shove) the gardening in when I really want to do something. Now I have other things going on right now.

Gbig, you know your typical weather conditions for the summer better than anyone. If you typically have hot dry weather, attempting to plant anything in the ground now is going to mean you will spend all summer babying the plantsm hence my recommendation to pot them up and grow them out until late summer or early fall when you will have larger plants to put in the ground. If the weather is such that you can plant and not have to baby plants all summer then do it! Only you can decide based on your personal experiences with planting items in the past.

Some of the pants need great drainage

Funny typo a2zmom :-)