Georgia is a wonderful state for gardening, offering moderate temperatures great for producing an array of spring vegetables and flowers. Georgia's spring planting season starts as early as late January for vegetables, and as early as February for some flowers. When choosing your spring annuals, perennials and vegetables, keep in mind that Georgia is in zones 7 and 8 of the USDA hardiness zone map, meaning the average minimum temperature ranges between 0 and 15 degrees Fahrenheit. When choosing seeds and nursery flowers, consult the package instructions for specific planting recommendations for these zones. Does this Spark an idea?
Flowers
The spring planting season for some flowers can start as early as February in Georgia. Petunias, dianthus, snapdragons, sweet alyssum and lobelia are all hardy enough to plant between February and March, despite the occasional freeze that sometimes still occur. Petunias, for instance, are hearty annuals providing a long blooming season. They prefer full sunlight and well-drained soil. Like most annuals, you are planting them from seed, start seeds about eight to 10 weeks before putting them in the ground. Dianthus and snapdragons, like petunias, also like full sunlight. Dianthus produce beautiful blooms in early spring while snapdragons blossom in summer. Sweet alyssum are low growing annuals, great as companion plants to pair with spring-blooming bulbs. They like full sunlight to partial shade and bloom pretty much year round. Lobelia are popular for window boxes and hanging planters, but can make great ground-cover, too. They must be started from seed 10 to 12 weeks before putting out and prefer full sun and moist soil.
For later spring planting, annuals such as impatiens, coleus and angelonia, and perennials such as pentas, lantana, jacobinia and purple coneflowers are all terrific Georgia planting options for spring and summer blooming. Impatiens and coleus are good choices for planting in areas of limited sunlight, while anagelonia do best in full sunlight. Pentas are beautiful and easy to care for and grow well in sun or partial shade as do the beautiful, multicolored lantana. Jacobina prefer partial to full shade and offer blooms from late spring to early fall. Purple coneflower prefer full sunlight and make great border flowers for your flower gardens.
Vegetables
If you're a Georgia vegetable gardener, there's no better early spring vegetable to start off with than peas. Plant them as seeds directly into the ground as early as Jan. 15. They are hardy, love cold ground and resist frost well. In fact, there are several cool-soil loving vegetables you can plant well before the last potential frost date. According to the University of Georgia Vegetable Planting Chart, carrots, asparagus, mustard, lettuce, spinach and bulb and green onions can all be planted as early as mid-January. Other popular vegetables to plant later in the season include cauliflower, cucumber, pole beans, lima beans, collards, eggplant, broccoli and watermelon. You can plant collards and broccoli can as early as mid-February. Cauliflower, pole beans, lima beans and watermelon should be planted in March or April. And cucumber and eggplant do best if not planted until April or May.
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