Can I still plant in December?
I’ve been seeing the question “Can I still plant?” pop up over and over again in all my Fb gardening groups, particularly in North Texas Gardeners , which if you aren’t a part of- please check it out!
Tazetta daffodil blooming in one of my front yard raised beds.
While the answer to this question depends largely on where you garden, the first thing you can do is check your last frost date and plant after that.
Transplanting and Fall bulb planting season begins after your first hard frost.
A hard freeze puts your plants into dormancy and makes transplanting safe!
If your ground is not frozen, it is okay to plant!
You can find your soil temperature here by typing in your zip code on this site: https://www.greencastonline.com/tools/soil-temperature
The soil temperature here in Denison, TX, Zone 8a on 12/5/23 is still 53 degrees!
While it does help to have a few weeks for plants to establish before it gets really cold, healthy plants should be okay, as long as they are watered in and receive a light root trimming on transplant. I generally try to do all my planting of shrubs when soil temperatures are in the 40’s and 50’s. Bulbs are much more tough.
Here is a list of flowers safe to plant in December zone 8a:
Bulbs: Tulips, Daffodils, Hyacinths, Iris etc.
Flowering Shrubs: Vibernums, Hydrangeas etc
Kale- Flowering Kales and Cabbages
Group 1 and 2 Snapdragons
Violas and Pansies
Most of these flowers are easy to grow and will give you great blooms in the Spring, and some, like Kale and Pansies, will give you some nice color in the winter too!
Here are some hints before you go running out to Lowes or your local nursery to buy some plants…
Bulbs:
Tulips and Hyacinths need a prechill of at least 8 weeks before planting. So if you haven’t already ordered "chilled bulbs” you must buy them chilled if you have mild winters. The Dallas Arboretum has them pre-chilled and I may also offer a few bags of pre-chilled bulbs as well the last week of December- check my facebook page for updates on this.
SNAPS:
If you want to give Snapdragons a try- make sure you are planting the right varieties. Group I and II Snaps like Legend and Chantilly do well with short days. If you want more info on Snap groups check Johnny’s page right below the picture on this web page: Snapdragon Production
Pansies: mostly winter hardy, but I cover with a spare cotton sheet or frost cloth if we get into the 20s or below.
I hope you have found this information helpful. If you have questions that I did not answer, please leave a comment and I will get back to you! For consistent tips on growing flowers- please subscribe to my email list.
