DENVER — People are buying plants like crazy. Is it safe to plant them outside?
In the past, annuals were categorized as hardy, half-hardy and tender. Hardy annuals can withstand a frost. These include pansies, peas, kale and cabbage. Half-hardy annuals can withstand cool night temperatures almost down to freezing. These include petunias, verbena, calendula, stock, snapdragons, lettuce, spinach, broccoli and chard.
Tender annuals do best in the warm season and shouldn’t be planted until night temperatures stay reliably above 50 degrees. These include tomatoes, peppers, squash, peppers, basil, geraniums, marigolds, zinnias, impatiens and sweet potato vines.
I’ve been exposing geraniums to the sun gradually on my patio but I’m not leaving them out at night. All plants that come out of a greenhouse or your own house need to be acclimated to the sun.
I’ve also brought out some echeverias that were growing under lights. Although desert plants like hot weather, they can tolerate cool nights. Because of low humidity, temperatures can fall at night in the desert. Cacti and other succulents can burn badly if exposed to full sun. So do it gradually, placing them in filtered shade for several weeks.
Succulents do well in small pots that are too small and hot for anything else such as pansies or geraniums. Soak clay pots in water before planting. Let the clay absorb water so that the dry clay won’t wick water away from the roots.
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