When is the Best Time to Plant Flowers in Toronto and the GTA (Spring Planting)

As residents of Ontario we are accustom to the cool day and overnight temperatures even in May.  Many people assume the best time to plant is May after the April showers. Unfortunately, this is not always correct, and planting a bit too early may result in the death of your plants.

The main consideration to be had when asking yourself if it’s the right time to be planting outdoors, is whether or not the ground temperature is warm enough for spring planting. For example, in early May it is not uncommon to have a very warm day (+17 deg), but this warmth is based on the overall outdoor air temperature and does not reflect what the temperature of the ground is.

As a general rule, we don’t like planting anything in the ground until the ground temperature is at least 2 deg Celsius and there is no further chances of frost.

What happens if I put my plants in the ground too early?

If you decide to head over to your local greenhouse or plant nursery in early May to purchase some vegetable plants or flowers for your garden, it is not advisable to put them in the ground quite yet. For spring planting, if the ground temperature is too cold, you will risk shocking the plants root system, stunting their growth, or killing them.

There are some exceptions for cooler weather planting which include cool weather vegetable crops such as peas, lettuce, kale, and spinach.

However, for most other vegetables, or for gardeners interested in planting flowers such as begonias, coleus, petunias, or geraniums, these are plants that are not native to our climate and are warm weather plants. It is especially important that these warm weather plants do not go in the ground when it is below 5 degrees Celsius (ground temperature).

So for anyone who is planning a garden this year, a good option is to wait until the May 24 (Victoria Day Long Weekend) to begin planting your seedlings. From past experiences, the temperature in early May is too unpredictable. Notwithstanding, early May is still a great time to begin working outdoors. This is an optimal time to begin planning your garden beds, top dressing your lawn, and cultivating soil in your garden beds or vegetable plots for the upcoming growing season.

Greenhouse to Garden is your one stop shop online garden centre located in Vaughan. Greenhouse to Garden is an online Garden Centre specializing in locally grown vegetable plants, annuals, perennials, hanging baskets, and other amazing landscape supplies. In addition to our amazing locally grown plants, we also pride ourselves on customer service as well as the best prices for flowers and plants within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).