Is now the right time/last frosts?!

[Diva1983]

I've just got back from a bargain store and have picked up some bargains and was wondering if any fellow grapes can tell me if I can plant them out now? I've got the following to plant out:s again

>Weigela
>Forsythia (looking very happy, loads and loads of buds)
>Hibiscus (rose of sharon, purpley type. or at least that's the impression I'm getting)
>5 crab apple trees

Also, I've read on several websites I can plant certain flowers etc 8 weeks before last frosts etc. When are last frosts roughly for Stoke-on-Trent/West Midlands area?

Thanks folks for the help-I really am clueless and can't resist a bargain

Diva

[Nicos]

Hi there!
Last frosts- early May- give or take a couple of weeks!

First and last frost dates for towns and cities in the UK and USA


If all the plants are potted up- then they can go in now as long as there isn't much new growth ( may need fleece if frosty)

Not very sure without seeing them to be honest.

They may well have been stored indoors and come on a bit too much-what do you think????

[Alice]

You can plant your shrubs and trees now Diva as long as the grounds not frozen and is workable. As Nicos says, if they came from a garden centre they may have been undercover in which case you will need to harden them off, but if they were just standing outside they should be fine.

[Two_Sheds]

I can plant certain flowers etc 8 weeks before last frosts

Do you mean sowing flower seeds?
Yes, sow them March/April, but remember you must harden them off for 10-14 days before they go outside permanently

[Diva1983]

Two_sheds,

indeed that is what I meant!

[Marthaclematis]

oOOOH, does that mean I can sow mine indoors then? I have Flax, Rudbeckia and Cosmos - I was a bit silly though, I bought them because of the picture on the packet...now home I have realised that they grow quite tall !! (up to four feet in the case of the Rudbeckia) I have also read that the Rudbeckia is invasive so I'll have to be carefull not to put it in my small front bed. Anyway its a fun isn't it!?? As long as I have lots of colour and butterflies and bees I don't mind. I have also bought some bulbs - I have planted loads this past year but the squirrels do help themselves to a lot it would seem. PS talking about butterflies is anyone planning to go to Wisley? We hope to go in two weeks.