Why is it important to climatize your Shipdirect2you plants when you receive them?
Here at Shipdirect2you we grow our plants under climate-controlled conditions. Here in South Australia we can have temperatures that range from +40’C in summer and severe frosts in winter so in able to keep growing healthy plants all year round and avoid root strike stress, we cover our nursery in commercial plastic in winter and 30% shade cloth in summer to avoid frost & heat burn.
This helps us to continue to provide you plants with healthy leaves and flowers all year round.
What does this mean for you?
As we ship our plants to Qld, NSW, Vic, SA, and the ACT, each of these areas have different climatic conditions so it is important to realise what area your plants have come from and what you need to do to get your plants adjusted to your climate area before planting out.
Steps you should take
The first thing you need to do when you receive your plants is to let them sit in a sheltered area in the pots they have arrived in, giving them a bit of water if they are dry, but do not plant out straight away, as this will likely result in too much stress.
Your plants have just been on a journey in a dark box for 1-4 days, so they need to ‘rest’ and soak up a bit of light, but too much full sun right away may stress them out, so a filtered light under a patio, or indoors in a windowsill is ideal for a few days.
The longer you can leave your plants in their pots the less stress they will under while they adjust to their new environment. If you can leave them for a few weeks then by all means do that, but if you need to plant them out sooner a few days to adjust should be sufficient.
If you live in an area with extreme weather conditions, then it would be advisable to protect them once planted until they have developed a good root system in the ground so they are strong enough withstand the drought or frost conditions.
If you live in a milder area, you should be able to plant out as soon as the plants have adjusted to their new home after a few days.
How long until my plants are strong enough in the garden?
Once you plant your plants out into the garden, they will immediately start developing new root growth. You can tell if the plant is doing well underneath by what is happening above. By this I mean that if your plant starts growing new young leaf growth within the first month of planting out then you know that your plants have successfully taken to their new home.
Despite this it may be 2-4 months before your root system is strong enough for the plant to handle extreme weather conditions, so you may still need to nurse them until then. Once they are well developed you can relax on the care and most of our hardy plants will need little maintenance after that.
Conclusion
There is nothing more pleasing or exciting than to see your plants flower for the first time. Pictures do not always do the flowers credit, and there is nothing like holding a bloom in your hands and feeling it for yourself or seeing the bees going about their day on the buds.
We guarantee that our plants are suited for all areas of Australia that we can ship to. After all, if they can grow in our SA conditions then they will grow anywhere else.
The reason that we have made this blog is to ensure that you get the best chance to see your plants get to this point so you can enjoy them in full yourself. If you follow the guidelines above, we can assure you that you will have the best chance to see this happen and be able to enjoy them for yourself and be able to share the joy of gardening. Good luck and Enjoy!