Acclimatising plants

mardatha

I've just bought some climbers on ebay and noticed they're coming from Somerset, which I'm sure is a hell of a lot warmer than I am up here.
How can I make sure they don't take one look at my garden then scream and faint?
I got a Polygonum Russian Vine, 2 Honeysuckles and a Clematis.
These are not plug plants and I'd hate to plant then and then watch them die.. will they be ok?

Linda32

Yes they will be fine. I am sure of it, and Yes I am aware of how much further north you are than Somerset

You might not want to plant them in cold frozen soil so wait for it to warm up a bit but apart from that you will be fine. Or more to the point, the plants will be. If you want to acclimatise them, you can pop them outside during the day and bring them in at night.

mardatha

I think I'll do that Linda - keep them in their pots for a week or so, put them outside during the day and bring into the porch at night, TY! I'm living off the food stash for a week to afford the bl00dy things, so I don't want them dying on me

Sally_A

It isn't that warm down here at the mo.

Keep an eye on weather and anticipated frosty nights (metcheck or metoffice websites), protect if you feel there is going to be a real dip in temperatures.

mardatha

Thank you. I look on the south west as a fabulous mythical paradise of constant warm sunshine .. :rotfl:

Del_Astra

Some frost forecast for the central belt Monday night / Tuesday morning.

floss2

mardatha wrote: »

....I got a Polygonum Russian Vine, 2 Honeysuckles and a Clematis.
These are not plug plants and I'd hate to plant then and then watch them die.. will they be ok?

TBH, it will take a lot to kill that once it gets going... we used to hack off every bit of growth every autumn & it would come back good as new the next year :mad::rotfl:

mardatha

I really need it floss, to cover an ugly compost heap and shed.

floss2

mardatha wrote: »

I really need it floss, to cover an ugly compost heap and shed.

In that case it will be fine - but keep it at bay with the shears so it doesn't invade the rest of your garden!

DaftyDuck

All of those plants are pretty hardy, and shouldn't suffer much from cold or damp - so long as it doesn't freeze, and so long as there's not too much young, tender growth on them. The polygonum will survive pretty much anything, most honeysuckles are frost hardy, and the clematis - even if the new shoots cop it - would reshoot from underground.

Leggy shoots? a distinct possibility, and they may take a week or two of being out to harden up. If your soil is warm enough to plant, you can always cover them up at night with a bit of fleece (newspaper would do). Wind may be your enemy there... tidy staking helps.

If small enough, you can use lemonade bottles as mini cloches on climbers... or the 4 litre water bottles that Tesco sells if they are larger. Chop off bottom, leave bottle top off for a bit of air...

Oh, and Mardywotsit, I read....

wrote:

I really need it to floss, to cover an ugly compost heap and shed.

... and choked a bit.

mardatha

:D:D !! and thanks! lol