None of the spring bulbs I've bought give me any idea when it is safe to
put them in the ground.

I'm in north zone 5 on a hillside that is a bit colder than the rest of
the county. We still have one last patch of ice in the yard and my
compost heap is still frozen but my bulbs are growing like gangbusters.

The stuff I bought includes:

1. Dahlias (regular and the spiny type). I potted up last year's which I
stored in peat in the basement to see if I could give them a head start
(and figure out if they are still alive.) I am wondering if I should pot
up the new ones to give them a head start, too. I was told I can't plant
these until no frost and last year mine seemed to take forever to grow
from roots and they flowered later than everyone else's I saw on my
walks, though they did eventually have pretty flowers. Should I pot the
new ones to get a head start or just wait until it's warmer?

2. Lily of the Valley - I've got a lot of woodsy shade that won't grow
much under some oaks. I read online that they probably won't flower
this year.

3. Balloon flower.

4. Clematis (well, there's a bit of help with them. The packages says
"when the ground temperature is 50 degrees". Does that mean they can
withstand a night frost? The ones I got are teensy and I stuck these in
potting soil with a stick to climb as they were already growing in the
bag. From reading about them online, it sounds like maybe I should grow
them in big containers on my deck this summer and plant them in
September. I'd like to have them grow on the trellis surrounding our
deck where we had a really nice show of Morning glories last year. It
isn't full sun by any stretch of the imagination, but the morning
glories didn't seem to mind, so I'm hoping they clematis won't either.



Also, what about planting dianthus? I found some for sale next to the
pansies and wondered if this means I can put them in the ground now.

I learned an amazing amount about gardening here last year and am really
excited about what I'm going to be able to do this year.