Just when it felt like spring had finally arrived, New Yorkers are once again reaching for jackets. And while the on\u2011again, off\u2011again weather is frustrating for people, local nurseries say it can be devastating for plants eager to bloom.<\/p>\n
Rows of flowers at Dragonetti Nursery in Mill Basin are noticeably thinner than usual for late April. That\u2019s because many plants are being kept indoors, shielded from overnight cold snaps that can permanently damage or kill new growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has a bit of windburn,\u201d said Nicolette Cammarata, a manager at Dragonetti Nursery, pointing to warped leaves on a plant that was briefly exposed to the cold. \u201cThis is what will happen if it\u2019s just too cold.\u201d<\/p>\n
With spring temperatures swinging wildly, nursery staff are making daily decisions about which plants can safely go outside and which must stay protected in greenhouses.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone wants tomatoes. We get the anticipation,\u201d Cammarata said. \u201cBut you have to be careful. You\u2019ve got to wait until this nice weather is here to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even on sunny days, many of the display tables outside remain empty. Plants that would normally fill those spaces are still inside, moved in and out on rolling racks as temperatures fluctuate.<\/p>\n
\u201cHerbs, vegetables, they\u2019re going on racks and heading inside,\u201d Cammarata explained.<\/p>\n
That process happens nearly every day at Dragonetti. Workers roll plants from the greenhouse into the open air when temperatures allow, then bring them back inside at night to protect them from frost. Some plants never make it outside at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to make sure that we\u2019re making the right decision before bringing it out,\u201d Cammarata said, \u201cbefore we lose it.”<\/p>\n
Customers at the nursery are divided on whether it\u2019s finally safe to start planting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very optimistic,\u201d one shopper said. \u201cFrom here on in, we\u2019ll have nice weather.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others are more cautious.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not planting anything,\u201d another customer said. \u201cOne day it\u2019s hot, the next day it\u2019s cold again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Certain plants\u2014including palms and edible plants like strawberries and hot peppers\u2014are staying under greenhouse lights full\u2011time. The nursery staff says homeowners should consider doing the same for now.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe type of soil you\u2019re using is super important, and fertilizers too, to make sure your plants inside are thriving,\u201d Cammarata said. \u201cA big windowsill and lots of sun\u2014that\u2019s my advice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nursery experts say patience is key. Once temperatures stay consistently above the 50s for a full week, plants will be able to safely move outdoors\u2014and stay there.<\/p>\n
Until then, they say, it\u2019s better to wait than risk losing everything to one more unexpected cold snap.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Just when it felt like spring had finally arrived, New Yorkers are once again reaching for jackets. And…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":208231,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":{"0":"post-208230","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn","8":"tag-brooklyn","9":"tag-brooklyn-headlines","10":"tag-brooklyn-news","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-nyc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/208231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}