With warmer temperatures signaling the arrival of spring, garden centers across Mississippi are seeing an influx of early-season customers ready to begin their gardening projects.
Garden centers across the state are welcoming both new hobbyists and seasoned horticulturists, offering a variety of products ranging from potting soil and seed starters to full-sized greenhouses. These centers vary in size, from small home operations to larger greenhouses providing hybrid plants suited for different environments.
“We start to see our first customers after the first warm days. Everybody gets excited for spring, I guess,” said David Kole, an employee at a local garden center. “We always have that person who comes in and buys all their plants first thing, and then they die during the next cold snap. I don’t start planting until April.”
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) classifies regions into Hardiness Zones based on the average winter low temperatures. South and Central Mississippi are in Hardiness Zone 8B, where winter temperatures typically range between 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. The state was previously classified in Zone 8A, but the USDA has gradually reclassified much of the state into Zone 8B. Some northern counties remain in Zone 8A, where temperatures drop to 10 to 15 degrees during the winter. Along the coast, temperatures can fall into Zone 9A, where winter lows are in the 20s.
“I’m excited to get more flowers planted this year,” said Dorothy White, a local hobby gardener. “I have a ton of vegetable seeds started, but it’s still too cold to plant those.”
According to Garden Design, perennial flowers and root vegetables grow well in the southeastern United States. Mississippi’s warmer climate allows for a growing season that can last as long as seven months, typically running from mid-April through October.
Pollinators play a critical role in the success of a garden. While bees and butterflies are the most anticipated pollinators, other insects such as wasps also contribute to pollination efforts for early-season plants.
With the variability in Mississippi’s spring weather, which can begin warming anywhere from January to April, opinions differ on the best time to start planting. Some gardeners plant before the last freeze to ensure plant hardiness, while others wait until after Easter to maximize plant survival.
