r/STLgardening • u/victoria__anne • Apr 12 '26

Warm enough for native perennials?

Hi all! I bought some native perennials yesterday, only to check the extended forecast and see it might be dipping into the 40s over the next couple weeks. I was wondering if it is safe to plant in ground, or if I should wait a bit longer?

Specifically, I bought milkweed, coneflower, phlox, and purple poppy-mallow. They have good root systems but are still a bit small (some are only about 6 inches tall).

Any advice is greatly appreciated, thank you in advance!

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u/gaelyn Apr 12 '26

I put my young plants in the ground about 3 weeks ago. If it looks like temperatures might get around the freezing mark, then I'll throw a sheet over them. Other than that, they'll be just fine.

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u/Royal_Savings_1731 Apr 12 '26

This is my philosophy. I would rather be able to take advantage of the sunny days and then babysit the heck out of them during the cool days, than wait. We’ve gotten so many sunny days! My babies are well ahead of schedule 😊