Even with the remnants of the most recent snowstorm still covering the ground, Reiman Gardens is working quickly to become healthy and blooming. With the first day of spring coming next week, all the flowers can do is wait.

Sarah Rummery, manager of Horticulture at Reiman Gardens, said the planting for Reiman’s tulip display starts as early as the fall before.

 “[The bulbs] we planted last fall. Bulbs you plant in October,” Rummery said. “Those are already there; we’re just waiting for the snow to melt and then they’ll do their own thing.”

The spring containers are grown in the greenhouses behind Reiman’s main building, Jessie Liebenguth, Reiman garden’s indoor and outdoor horticulturalist, says those house annuals that are more tender. “[Plants] that like it a little cooler like lettuces, some of the more delicate flowers that like that cool season,” Liebenguth said. “We usually start our spring annuals in February so they’re flowering and looking good before we put them in in April.” 

Rummery said Iowa’s sporadic weather patterns definitely affects the planting. Although the frost-free date for Iowa is between May 13-15, one can never be too sure, Rummery said. 

“Every year there is always a concern,” Rummery said. “One year, we planted a little early of that frost-free date. Then, sure enough, then we got a really cold snap. … It was cold enough that some of the more tender annuals were knocked back. So we had to prune them and trim them.”

Frost is the main enemy of most potted plants, so for the heavy winter months, Reiman uses greenhouses to prepare the spring containers. They are typically planted during the first week of April, but the cold can still linger for a few more weeks. 

“We’ll have to cover containers if we know there is going to be a cold night coming up,” Rummery said.

She said a sheet is draped over plants in order to keep them warm.

“It’s kind of like clouds,” Rummery said. “Clouds will insolate the Earth during night temperatures. You generally have more problems with frost when you don’t have clouds. … [The plants] lose of lot of [their] radiant heat because it is just bouncing right out. Clouds act as a layer. It’s the same thing with a sheet.”

Rummery hopes the tulips will last longer than the previous year, since last year’s early heat wave squeezed the life out of some of the flowers. Rummery also said the horticulturalists have been seeing early annual plants such as daffodils already beginning to sprout. Spring is on its way.