Hardening off my Heartsease

Well I've got my Heartsease in containers containing 4-7 each and am looking to harden them off.

I've looked at various places on the internet and they all say pretty much the same thing. Put outside in the day, inside at night and protect from frost, winds, rain, etc.

The problem I'm having is rain is forecast for the next week. Will it be okay to put the flowers out anyway?

And no, I don't have a cold frame or anything like that!

Thanks

 

Your Heartsease should be safe to go out into the BIG O now especially whilst it's cool and moist,

 

Thanks Jenny! Would have responded sooner but I couldn't access the site for some reason.

 

Site was moving home over the weekend

I disagree with the advice you have read NOT to put outside during the rain whilst hardening off. heavy rain may flatten young, lush, growth, but gentle rain will provide a high moisture level, and plants that are hardening off get most knocked back IME by wind and sun that dry them out. Wet conditions, where the plant a) gets watered at the soil and b) the leaves don't transpire (due to heat or wind airflow causing evaporation) is ideal.

Other than that wind that will blow them over, or hail / heavy rain that will smash them are bad. Strong sun can give them sunburn (not usually for anything that was in a greenhouse, but its worth considering for things coming out of a house where the light at the window was not 100%).

Gardeners World recently recommended covering plants with fleece for the first few days (to shade from sun and keep wind off - that would include heavy rain if you have a frame to keep the fleece off the plants themselves) (but bring them in at night), then in the second week no fleece, but still in at night, then in the third week out at night, but covered with fleece for the night ...

... that's WAY more trouble than I go to! I put mine out in a spot sheltered from the wind, west facing so they only get sun 50% of the day, and bring them in at night for the first week (and I don't put them out on days where the weather is not suitable), then stay out at night for week 2 - still in my sheltered spot (but I watch the forecast in case the MIN temperature is predicted dangerously low), then plant after 2 weeks.

Once we get to 1st June the minimum night temperature is generally 10C+, so I generally put things out and leave them out (but in a sheltered spot) and then plant out after a week, or even after a few days. Its earlier in the Spring when more care is needed I think.