Gardening season starts in Phoenix: Tips and tricks for your plants

PHOENIX - Here in the Valley, we're ditching winter even earlier than normal, and 90s are in the forecast.

Does it mean spring has sprung? And when's the best time to start gardening with warmer weather?

FOX 10 Meteorologist Erica Horvatin went to a local nursery to find out.

What To Know::

With highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s, temperatures are perfect for planting and landscaping.

In the Valley, Valentine's Day is typically a safe time to start planting. The cut off is when temperatures start climbing toward 105 to 110 degrees, which happens around late April into May.

Matthew Whitfill from Whitfill Nursery said when choosing plants for your yard, you’ll want to consider how much water you’re able to provide the plant, the radiative heat from a block wall or hardscaping, and the sun exposure.

Once you plant them, the most important thing is watering.

"If you have something that’s newly planted, it doesn’t have the infrastructure to pick up a ton of water, so the most important thing is to baby them through that first 3,4,5 months, to get their feet set, to kinda get the head start so they have something to work off of as they start to mature," Whitfill said.

The amount of water is very important.

If you want your newly planted greens to survive, you don’t necessarily want to do a little bit of water every day. Only seasonal flowers and some vegetables need to stay damp 24/7.

"Rule of thumb: The size of the container dictates how much water. So if it was a five gallon plant, it needs about 4-5 gallons of water at a sitting, and the frequency is high at the start for everybody," he said. "Even if you were going to plant a Saquaro cactus, that first day or two, you need to get it sopping wet

He says to mimic rainfall.

"Most stuff is aiming for rain, so you’re trying to fake that, like feast and famine. Sopping wet and bone dry cycle is what you’re aiming at for most stuff," he said.

You have about two months to get your planting done. The goal is to help your new plants build a root system before the heat arrives.

If an abrupt warm-up happens before that, be sure to shade them.

Seeding your lawn

If you need to switch out your winter rye grass for a warm season grass, or just seed from scratch, it’s time to do that, too.

"You’re on target for Bermuda, as we start to warm up now, like 80s and 60 degree nights is kinda the perfect weather for getting things established. Bermuda is the most common one you see this time of year, but you can do Dichondra, St. Augustine. There are different grasses that do really well here in the Valley, but you don’t want to get them established in May/June, they just won’t take," Whitfill said.

If you plan on seeding, you should water frequently in the few weeks following.

Also, you may have noticed weeds are popping up now, so Whitfill suggests staying ahead of them by pulling them individually or using a herbicide spot spray.