I’m a gardening expert – the exact time to start planting your garden

AS March weather turns from fierce, roaring storms to lamb-like sunshine, it can be tempting to start planting your garden.

But one garden expert warns that planting now could sabotage your garden for the rest of the year, and you may need to wait much longer than you anticipated to get those seedlings in the ground.

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Morris Hankinson, Managing Director of Hopes Grove Nurseries, told that there are specific plants that should never find their way into the ground in March.

"It's way too early," Hankinson said.

The specific plants to keep out of the ground right now include "tender bedding plants, tender vegetables, anything that doesn’t like the frost."

Gardeners should wait until the risk of frost is completely over, which means waiting up to two months.

Tender plants like lemon verbena, canna, geraniums, cucumber, and tomato shouldn't go into the ground until late May, Hankinson said.

Some gardeners may protest that seems too late, but Hankinson said it's the best way to keep tender plants safe.

"We still get frost at the beginning of May. Most years we get at least one,” he warned.

Even if the weather seems nice for much of March and April, it can "fool" gardeners, the expert said.

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When an unexpected frost comes, those plants that were just starting to take off can collapse completely.

Stems can be destroyed and fruits or blossoms can be bruised, which can impede future growth and kill off plants.

If you have tender plants waiting to go in the ground, Hankinson said to keep them inside for as long as you can before putting them in your garden.

"We love seeing the flowers in the garden centers and the nurseries," Hankinson said.

"By all means buy it if you’ve got somewhere where you can grow it on where it’s warm - but don’t go and plant it in the garden, tempting as it is," he added.

Instead of putting those tender plants in beds, gardeners can spend March pest-proofing their gardens or working to get hardier plants ready for the ground.

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