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Looking outside in Saskatchewan right now you might not guess we’re just days from starting May, and the extended winter is putting pressure on businesses waiting to bloom.
Jill Van Duyvendyk, co-owner at Dutch Growers which has stores in both Regina and Saskatoon, said this spring’s roller-coaster weather has meant a lot of pivoting.
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She said the stores have had to make changes in staffing, like altering start dates and orientations, because of the later entry into spring.
Plus, it’s required adapting the store’s greenhouse.
With Dutch Growers receiving products from across western Canada, she said plants coming from B.C. which would normally be placed outside need a short-term home away from the cold.
“We’ve had to move stuff around, make space in the greenhouse,” Van Duyvendyk said about the extra inventory.
Even with the prolonged winter requiring some adaptation, she said all of the staff are prepping for a surge of customers once that snow finally melts.
“Everybody’s going to come all at once,” Van Duyvendyk said.
Putting off plant purchases until that warmer weather comes, though, “is not a bad idea,” she said.
“We have the ideal growing growing situation here, whereas you might not as much in your home. We’re keeping things fertilized. We’re keeping things watered.”
Another benefit to holding off a little longer on new plants is it’ll ease your workload.
For anything in the greenhouse, like perennials, or plants with buds, they need to go through what Van Duyvendyk called a “hardening-off stage.”
“What that means is putting them out during the day, bringing them in at night,” she said.
It’s because these plants are, “still tender,” according to Van Duyvendyk.
Night temperatures need to consistently reach 5 C or warmer. For tropical plants, that increases to 10 C at night, Van Duyvendyk said.
Although delaying has its benefits, she said if gardeners are looking for something specific they should come early because plants go fast.
“The biggest thing is if you do buy a plant early, remember to feed it,” Van Duyvendyk said, referencing that water and sunlight were also important.
Buying a new plant without having the proper way to feed it, “it’s kind of just like getting a pet and then not buying the dog food for it,” she joked.
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