Bumping this for the upcoming Spring weather! =) Hardening Transplants by Curtis E. Swift, Ph.D. Area Extension Agent (Horticulture) Introduction: The transplanting process can be a shock to rapidly growing seedlings especially when set out into the cold windy garden in the spring. This is especially true for transplants started in the greenhouse, cold frame, hotbed or home. These young seedlings can be made somewhat resistant to heat, cold temperatures, drying and whipping winds, certain types of insect injury, injury from blowing sand and soil particles and low soil moisture by a process termed "hardening". The term "hardening" refers to any treatment that results in a firming or hardening of plant tissue. Such a treatment reduces the growth rate, thickens the cuticle and waxy layers, reduces the percentage of freezable water in the plant and often results in a pink color in stems, leaf veins and petioles. Such plants often have smaller and darker green leaves than nonhardened plants. Hardening results in an increased level of carbohydrates in the plant permitting a more rapid root development than occurs in nonhardened plants. Cool-season flower and vegetable plants can develop hardiness allowing them to withstand subfreezing temperatures. Unhardened cabbage seedlings have been reported to be damaged by temperatures of -2 degrees C (28 degrees F) while hardened cabbage will tolerate temperatures as low as -6 degrees C (22 degrees F). Warm-season types of plants even when hardened, will not withstand temperatures much below freezing. If transplanted to the garden or field prior to the average last killing spring frost, such plants should be provided protection by hot caps or other such devices. Method: Any of the following can be used to harden transplants. A combination of all these techniques at one time is more effective. 1. Gradually reduce water - water lightly at less frequent intervals but do not allow the plants to wilt severely. 2. Expose plants to lower temperature than is reported as optimal for their growth. If biennials are exposed to cold for an extended period, they may bolt in lieu of developing properly. Note: Placing the plants outside during the day to encourage hardening and then bringing the plants back into the warm house during the night often reverses the hardening process. Plants could be placed in a cold frame or other area that does not freeze during the night hours without lose of the hardening process. 3. Do not fertilize, particularly with nitrogen immediately before or during the hardening process. A starter solution or liquid fertilizer could however be applied to the hardened transplants one or two days prior to transplanting into the garden or at the time of transplanting. 4. Gradually expose the plants to more sunlight. This results in the development of a thicker cuticle layer thereby reducing water loss. Cautions: Hardening is not necessary for all transplants. Splittstoesser recommends that with the exception of tomatoes, plants that are susceptible to frost should not be hardened. Overly hardened plants while withstanding unfavorable outside conditions are slow to get started and may never overcome the stress placed on the plant during the hardening process. Lorenz and Maynard recommend that plants be hardened for no longer than seven to ten days before planting to the garden site. Entered by Violet_Z6

Thanks for your advice. I thought it was kind of odd that the majority of plants seem to be toxic - yet there are cats all over. I've never seen one eating a tomato plant leaf... I know Lily of the Valley is out, stuff like that. At petplace.com they have a page on "how to plant a cat-safe garden". I was glad to see that Hostas are on the "good list". They will do well along the fence line (and eliminate the mowing problems!). They list the 10 least wanted plants as: Castor Bean, Oleander, Morning Glory, Japanese Yew, Jerusalem Cherry, Foxglove, Nightshade, Lily of the Valley, Precatory Beans and trumpet vine. I am wondering about a small tree - maybe a Magnolia or a Locust (the one without thorns/pods). The pods are poison. I know the locust gets big, but I'd really like to have one somewhere near my deck for the dappled light. I'm also wondering if maybe Sumac - the staghorn kind here in Wisconsin - can grow as a decent little tree if it's kept pruned. I have an old fashioned Lilac in the front yard that I've been keeping as a tree, it's kind of fun, and I just mow off the suckers, but it's beginning to look like Bonsai :-) This area will be dedicated to my beloved best friend Priscilla. I only wish she was here to enjoy this new enclosure. I had built a small enclosure for the cats, but Cilla only seemed to enjoy being outside if I was, and I couldn't sit in the enclosure. There were too many times when I'd move my chair close to the enclosure and put my hand through the fence to touch her while I read. Now my entire deck will be a part of the enclosure for us to enjoy. I love my cats so very much, and I'm looking forward to having a smaller area in my 5 acres that I can *really* focus on landscaping. I've resisted buying anything yet - I took the old enclosure down today, need to do some cleanup yet around the deck tomorrow, and finish the sump pump drain. The parts for the new cat fence have arrived,and hopefully by the end of the weekend I will have an enclosed safe area for all kitties to come. And let the landscaping begin :) (1650 sq ft enclosed - 325 of it is deck - I cheated and found a calculator online) :) Gina Here is a link that might be useful: fence-to-be

Ripped-Off. Terrible Customer Service. We spent a ridiculous amount of money on 3 Peonies ($70 each). They were supposed to be 2 gallon Peonies. The Peonies arrived in 2 gallon pots, but one of the Peonies was the size of a plant that could fit in a 2.5 Quart Pot. We planted it and it died within a month. When we contacted The Tree Center they said something about the plant measurement being based on the rootball. Whether it was the rootball or the plant itself, they were both small and could have fit in a 2.5 Quart Pot. It was a complete rip-off for a "2 gallon" Peony at $70 and it died almost immediately.

After 3 years in the ground it is probably no longer portable, due to the kind of shrub it is. And if you move much soil out of the ground with it and place it in the planter, it will probably be too heavy for such use - particularly with this kind of shrub. Unless the soil there happens to be very sandy. In which case it is going to be all that much harder to move the shrub with an intact soil ball. This fast growing item is cheap enough that it might be a lot better to buy a small one and train it into the desired size and shape yourself. Also it may really be too late in the spring for this operation. Check by looking at the specimen, seeing if it is starting to develop. A good general rule is to end transplanting by Feb 15. Of course, there will be some late sprouting kinds of trees and shrubs that can be done somewhat beyond this point. But if you cut the roots near the time of sprouting of shoots there can be problems.