It´s gonna be a low of 48F tonight...Can i leave my l´il chile plants outside??

Bicycle808

Bicycle808

B/c i don´t wanna bring them in. Just a buncha little plants in solo cups, hardening off on my deck.  I was hoping to leave them out overnight and throughout the morning, and bring them in tomorrow around noon.  That would be my plan if the overnight temps stayed at 50F or above.
 
What´s the smart move here?  If I bring them in tonight, i won´t have time to bring them back out tomorrow until after noon....
 
i'm doing the same dance. I hate to do it cuz it's a pain in the ass but when my night temps get into the 40's I bring them in. Even low 50's I worry a little bit but still leave them out. It won't kill them but it will slow their growth so I opt to bring them in. Temps in the 40's is a no go for me.
 
This is how I think about it, 55F- Yea we're alright. 53F- hmmm we're getting close to uncomfortable, 51F- my plants aint gonna like it but they'll live and I'll probably wake up in the middle of the night hoping they're ok. 50F or lower- I'm coming babies! papas coming to save you!
 
Hybrid Mode 01 said:
     You're fine. 40s and low 50s are bad for long periods because growth will slow down a lot, but if it's warming up during the day they'll be fine.
     Just don't plant out while it's still getting that cool at night. Prolonged slow growth can lead to disease.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah, it´s gonna be mid/high 60s tomorrow.  I´m tying to get these plants as much time in the sun as i can; i am thinking if i leave them out overnight, when i check them at noonish, i´ll just leave them out longer if they´re not showing signs of stress. 
 
According t the danged weather.com site, itś only gonna be under 50F for 2 hours (6-7a) so I think i´ll roll the dice.
 
Bicycle808 said:
B/c i don´t wanna bring them in. Just a buncha little plants in solo cups, hardening off on my deck.  I was hoping to leave them out overnight and throughout the morning, and bring them in tomorrow around noon.  That would be my plan if the overnight temps stayed at 50F or above.
 
What´s the smart move here?  If I bring them in tonight, i won´t have time to bring them back out tomorrow until after noon....
Click to expand...
 
The smart move would be... Don't stress those young plants. You are defeating the purpose of hardening off, you won't be doing them any favors by leaving them out and you may do damage that could be irreversible. Bring those babies in and harden them off the right way.
 
My precious plants were left out last night for temps of 40*

I had a few leaf drops and several tops bending over.

My advice based on last night...don't do it.

I put them back indoors and they stood back up...I'm going to have to wait for 50+*
 
I've been leaving my peppers out when the temperature dips into the 40s.

For my part down here in the South, I'm probably running out of cool nights.

But, next year, I want to experiment with hauling a few select plant in when the temperatures dip, and leaving the rest to deal with the elements. Then try to discern if it made difference.

At some point in the late Winter/early Spring, I usually run out of room to effectively haul every single plant inside.

I think the annums and baccutums can handle the cool evenings better, but I need to test that assumption.
 
I don't think you can compare an established plant in the ground on a 40 degree night to a plant in a solo cup that's been indoors.  A plant in the ground is going to be acclimated to temperature shifts, not to mention the ground is going to keep it and especially its root system at a higher temperature.  An indoor plant is not going to be used to fluctuation in temperatures and that cup is going to cool off fast.  It wouldn't kill the plant, but it definitely isn't good for it.  10 minutes to bring the plants indoors seems like a no brainer to me if for nothing else just as a precaution.  I keep my plants in trays so I can move 20+ plants in and out in just a minute.  
 
Of course the night is already over so what's done is done :)
 
So, i checked the weather again, and they´d switched their predictions to much lower temps so, around 11p, I brought the plants in.  I was tempted to leave one tray out as an experiment, but none of these plants seem ll that expendable yet... 
 
So, I ended up losing this game of chicken against mother nature, but at least all my plants are safe´n´sound.
 
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