Garden Center at Upland #687

Gardening Gift Sale for Mother's Day
When you're searching for Mother's Day gardening gifts, check out the impressive bargains on our flower pots, planters, and garden decor. Our Mother's Day Sale is your solution for the perfect present. You can even surprise her with new patio furniture. If you're overwhelmed about what to get, a gift card always works. It's easy to shop the sales that run from May 2nd to May 12th on our mobile app or at your local store.



It's time to start thinking of spring. We're here to help you prepare for sprouts poking up, fragrant breezes, and warmer temperatures. Planting seeds indoors means you'll be ready to transplant spring flowers and young veggie plants when the frosts are through and the ground thaws. You might even want to directly plant seeds into the earth.

Plant Hardiness Zones Explained
The first thing you should know when planting veggies, spring flowers, and other seeds is your planting zone. Every location in the U.S. and its territories is sorted into blocks by climate. Find your zone on the USDA zone map and learn when to plant seeds.

For example, you could transplant bell peppers outdoors in mid-March in Zone 10, but not until the end of May in Zone 4. The plants that'll thrive in your area are in your zone, and all the zones numbered less than that. In other words, a Zone 6 garden can support plants listed as Zones 1–6. You can plant seeds indoors roughly a month before you can plant them outside, or direct sow. Read your seed packet for details. If you start seeds later than recommended, it's not ideal, but it should even out as time passes.

Gardening in Your Growing Zone
The southernmost part of California is primarily in Zones 9 and 10, with small areas of 6–8 sprinkled in near San Bernadino and Palm Springs. A temperate Mediterranean climate on the coast means there's usually gorgeous gardening weather. Areas in the mountains and desert are more challenging to grow vegetables in, but indoor gardening is an excellent workaround.

For more temperate areas, find your planting zone and prepare to get planting. Growing season begins early and ends late in this part of the country. The climate and weather make it easy to get and keep a beautiful garden going. A wide variety of plants, flowers, and vegetables thrive in southern California. If you've got good soil drainage, you can even grow citrus trees. You’ll have excellent results with peppers of all heat levels and colors, including bell peppers, jalapeños, and more. Zucchini, cucumbers, squash, and pumpkins, which are direct sow only, will flourish. Planting tomatoes will yield thriving fruit and leaves, as they’re tropical in origin and are happiest in the heat.

In the desert, native plants like cacti, succulents, and other hardy desert shrubs will easily grow outside. Other beloved garden vegetables love the heat. If you start them indoors and carefully introduce them outdoors in the shade, you can enjoy raising vegetables even in a dry climate. However, many flowers are sensitive to that much heat and sun, so research to find varieties that can handle the weather before planting outdoors.

Plant Seeds Outside With Direct Sow
Planting seeds with the direct sow method, right into the soil, is another option. It doesn't give you as much organized planning in terms of reliability and spacing compared to indoor starts. However, if you like to go with the flow, follow the instructions on your seed package and try it out.

Your seeds might struggle to grow or get washed away, or critters or insects might eat the sprouts. But if you're really fortunate, you might get strong sprouts, perfectly spaced and ready to grow all spring. The reality of your garden will usually be somewhere in between, and spreading out tiny sprouts throughout the soil isn't so bad. You know those sprouts are primed to survive and hardy, although there are no guarantees in the long term.

Start Seeds Indoors
If you'd like more control over your seedlings' journey or you're eager to get growing, start your seeds indoors instead. In general, you can plant seeds indoors about a month before you can do it outside. Like direct sow, you push the seeds into the soil as directed on the seed packet, but that's where the similarities end.

You're responsible for giving them quality substitutes for sun and rain. Keep your seeds warm with warming mats and grow lights, water them carefully with a mister or watering can, then thin them as they germinate in groups of three. Give them a boost with a gently blowing fan as they lengthen into sprouts if you'd like. Harden them off to get them used to outdoor conditions, then transplant them into your garden when they're big enough.

Transplant Young Plants Into Their New Homes
By now, your plants have three or four true leaves — they'll look different from the miniature seedling leaves. When you're not expecting soaking rain, and the ground is warm, look into transplanting your small plants into their new outdoor home. "Transplant" means that you put these small plants straight into pots or garden soil. In cases where you direct sowed, you may still want to shuffle plants around for the best spacing and sun. That's also a transplant situation, as is repotting plants into larger pots.

Protect Your Garden With Mulch
Finish your garden bed with compost and mulch. Compost enriches the soil so your garden can grow even better. It may help foster stronger and larger plants that bear more flowers and fruit. Mulch controls weeds and keeps the soil moist. Compost and mulch can be DIY creations, but you can also purchase them in-store. The next time you're looking for "mulch near me," stop by the Garden Center to get the perfect amount.

Greet the Spring
Late winter into early spring is an exciting time in the world of gardening. Don't miss a minute of growing season. Plan your garden and landscaping, prepare to fertilize your lawn, and browse our garden center pages to find inspiration on which spring flowers to plant when the weather warms. Shop for the seeds, fertilizer, and soil you need in the aisles of your Upland Garden Center, online, or on our mobile app. Let's get growing together.