Lesson planning with activities and experiments that involve a living, growing organism takes practice. Thankfully, when grown in standard classroom temperatures, Fast Plants stick pretty close to their predicted growth schedule.

Frequently, we’re asked what day of the week is best for planting. This is a really good question because the day when students plant will determine how likely they are to see emerging seedlings.

We suggest a Monday planting date so that by Wednesday students can observe the first seedlings that have emerged, and by Friday all seeds will have germinated. Of course, this assumes your classroom stays warm over night — temperature has a big affect on growth and development, and germination will slow significantly if temperatures are cooler than 60 degrees F.

If planting on a Monday isn’t workable, try planting on a Friday so that seedlings are just beginning to emerge the next Monday.

You can learn about all the stages of growth and development in the Fast Plants Life Cycle here.