As the days grow longer and warmer, many of us are eager to get back outside and celebrate the return of spring. Earth Day is one of my favorite spring celebrations. Plants that have been dormant all winter are emerging from the ground, bees and butterflies are busy collecting pollen from new flowers, and bright green leaves adorn formerly bare tree branches.
While Earth Day is still over a month away, we’re starting our celebration plans early! A regular Earth Day activity is planting trees and flowers, which is always a great idea, but late April can be a challenging time for the plants.
Like a lot of us, most plants go dormant in the winter. As soon as spring comes, they start to “wake up,” growing their roots, branches, leaves, and flowers. If you try transplanting plants while they’re growing, it can stress them out and reduce their chances of surviving. The best times for planting in your yard are late winter/early spring (just before the plants wake up) or early fall (after most plants have gone dormant but before continuous hard frosts).