Cold Cold Days

It has been a cold, cold, couple of weeks. Typically the last frost date around here is around May 12th. I'm not sure what the official last day of frost is, but that's what I usually go by. It's the date that I'll start planting out annuals, hanging up my baskets and filling the window boxes, and, most looked forward to, start moving houseplants outside.

I have three big houseplants that spend every summer outdoors. A ficus and an umbrella plant move to the front porch, and the big fern goes out to hang under the deck. They are all kind of weak and spindly after the long winter, and each enjoys their summer vacation and grows strong and lush and green. Then they come inside in the fall and grow weak and spindly again. It's the great circle of houseplant life around here.

Right now it's mission-critical that it warm up because these plants are dry. I stopped watering them a couple weeks ago, knowing it will be time to move them soon, and knowing that adding a little water to the plants adds a lot of weight to the pot. Being the kind, thoughtful wife that I am, I hate to burden hubby with undo back-stress. He already gets a little crabby on plant-moving day anyway; for some reason he doesn't seem to see the joy in moving a seven foot, fifty pound tree from the stuffy indoors to the fresh outdoors. I don't know why he doesn't enjoy it, I hold the door for him and everything.

Anyway, every spring it comes down to this exact thing. It turns slightly warm. I stop watering, preparing the plants to become as light as possible. It turns cool, but I don't water, knowing it will warm up soon. It becomes cooler, and I still don't water. We have frost, but no water. The plants are starting to dry up, the leaves are getting brittle. The ficus drops leaves and the fern starts shedding little brown bits. It stays cold while I grow more and more nervous, wondering when and if I will ever be able to have the big move to the outdoors. Will it will happen before the plants have serious damage, or will I need to give in and give the plants some water?

Most years, I hold off until I can stand it no longer and then the plants go out no matter how cold it is. None of that moving them out, move them in, move them out, move them in, trying to get them acclimated to the outdoors. Plants around here don't get coddled very often, and the houseplants are no exception. They move out, I soak them thoroughly with the hose, and they are on their way to a glorious summer vacation.

I've already decided this weekend is the big weekend. The fern might get a reprieve for another week or so, it really does take a cold snap harder than the other two, but Saturday morning out will go the ficus and umbrella plant. Hubby is working Saturday, so I would have to do the heaving myself. Hmmm. It may have to wait until Sunday morning.