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Best times to plant vary
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
T
he rough winter may have delayed some
gardeners in getting outside to plant, but
there’s no reason you can’t start now.
Sherry Kopacz, owner of Hermiston’s
Kopacz Nursery and Florist, reviewed the best
time to plant different types of garden crops in the
Hermiston area.
“With weather like this, any root crop — beets,
carrots, potatoes, onions — they’re all early,” Kopacz
said. “You can also get cabbage or other cold-hardy
plants like broccoli and caulifl ower early.”
Kopacz said peas can also be planted in early
spring.
Crops that need a little more warmth to survive
in the ground include tomatoes, melons and peppers.
Some gardeners try to start those crops indoors and
then transfer them outside when the weather warms
up, or put row covers on those plants to protect them.
“With melons or tomatoes, if you protect them,
you can get away with planting them some time in
April,” she said. “But if the ground is not warm,
they’re not going to grow. So I’d hold off until after
May 1st.”
Kopacz said Hermiston’s climate is good for
growing most types of crops, and that often the issue
in the summer is protecting plants from too much
sun.
Gardeners can also grow berries pretty success-
fully in this area, Kopacz said. Fruit trees, she said,
can grow here as well, but gardeners have to be
careful to protect them from pests.
Many perennial fl owers and shrubs are fairly
hardy as well, Kopacz said.
According to the Oregon State University Exten-
sion Service, fall is a good time to plant shrubs, as the
weather is a little cooler and eases some of the shock
of being transplanted. It also gives them enough time
for the roots to get adjusted before spring.
The key to transplanting, Kopacz said, is
adequately watering everything.
Annuals, or plants that survive for only one
season, are a little more sensitive.
“Geraniums, petunias — give or take,
you can plant those in April,” Kopacz said.
In mid-May, gardeners can start planting bulb fl owers
such as dahlias, gladioli and tuberous begonias, as
well as chrysanthemums, which bloom in the fall.
Succulents also tend to do well in the dry Eastern
Oregon climate, and can be planted at any time,
according to Kopacz.
Kopacz said some plants need to be sprayed
with a systemic fungicide and bugs like aphids are
a common nuisance. Gardeners can also use row
covers to protect plants from certain pests, like
cabbage maggot adult fl ies and carrot rust fl ies.
The most important thing here, she said, is
keeping everything watered adequately.
Kopacz has owned the nursery in Hermiston for
40 years.
Staff photos by Jayati Ramakrishn
An employee at Kopacz Nursery
an
preparation for spring gardening. takes plant starts out of their boxes in
Several pots of
forsythia are being
transported at Ko-
pacz’s nursery.
Bins of potatoes
and onions are
ready for planting.