Hi! I'm a little new to taking gardening seriously, and have a few questions. I bought various flowers and plants this year, but can't quite find when it's safe to put them outside. The lowest it's been getting where I live is around 25 degrees, and it has not been lower than 20 degrees this entire month. I have a few plants I know are cold-hardy, but I keep getting mixed answers on when I can put them out/plant them in the ground. The plants are the viola, 36 inch snapdragon, and 10 inch snapdragon. I have a few others I'm worried about, but I'll focus on these for now! Any info is good info!

Crazed - your plants will do well in the cooler temps but they've all been grown in a greenhouse where it's warm. They need to be hardened off a bit before planting. Take them outdoors for a few hours a day to start when temps are above freezing. Gradually leave them out for longer periods of time over the course of a couple of weeks before planting.

Ah, that's great! I need to try and get the cool-temp plants out, so I can make room for some summer plants! I also have thyme, petunias, rosemary, and an early girl tomato plant. It's still too cold for all of them, right?

Crazed - you will be trundling those cool-season plants in and out over the next couple of weeks. You are a little warmer than me up in NW IN and if this cold weather holds on, you may need to extend that acclimating period a little longer. Those summer plants need to stay indoors a while longer. Can't plant out petunias and tomatoes when there's still a chance of frost or freeze. Give the soil a chance to warm up to minimum 50 degrees.

I thought the early girl and petunia would need a little longer. I did once have a roma tomato that lived below 40 degrees for awhile, but I have no idea how it managed to survive. I'm guessing the herbs will need to be even warmer than the tomato and petunia? Ah, what an exciting year to be gardening already!

If you're planning on planting your herbs in the ground, the thyme should survive your winter but I'm not so sure about rosemary. It is more cold-sensitive. Those are more zone 6 or 7 depending on variety. I grow mine in a pot year-round and bring it indoors over winter but I am in zone 5.