Gardening and Horticulture - planting/transplanting schedules

I am in Houston, Texas...hot and muggy summers. I have a question on scheduling my plantings and transplantings. I want to start my flowers and grasses in pots (grasses in raised beds). If I want to transplant the flowers and grasses into the ground around March, when should they be planted into the pots and raised beds. Also, should they have some cover, such as shadecloth on frames to cover the beds?

Hi Texastrees,

Seeds take different times to germinate, so there is no set rule as to when to start everything. I'm sure someone can help you better than that. Find out what your last frost date is.

http://www.homestore.com/LawnGarden/Zones/Hardiness.asp
http://www.victoryseeds.com/frost/ (Frost dates)

If you'll type in "Gardening in Houston", or "Gardening in Texas" in the search engines below, you'll find lots of helpful info.

http://dogpile.com
or
http://lukol.com

Gami

Hi Texastrees,

Here's a site on starting seeds that should be helpful -

http://www.chestnut-sw.com/seedhp.htm

Gami

Your local Dept. of Agriculture Extension Agent is a wealth of free gardening info specific to your area.