Too early for bedding plants?

s4lvatore

Was having a look around my garden centre as well as B&Q and Homebase today and noticed there are some bargains on some bedding plants going, thing like petunias, lobelias and marigolds.

Was thinking of buying some but then was reading around the net and it looks like it may be too early to put these out yet, is that right?

I have got 3 tier greenhouse thing with a fleece that I was going to use for some plugs that I was buying this week from the net but am now concerned anfter reading aorund that it may be too early to do that too.

Can anyone help me with some advice?

peter_the_piper

This is the most difficult time of the year. Earlier and the answer is a definite no, later a definite yes but we are in the in between time. We can have a 5o'clock frost which has gone by 6 but crisped the tender stuff. We advise people to keep a very close watch on the forecast and protect them if a frost or very night is even hinted at.
Check out your local nursery and ask their advice, you may well get cheap plants from the sheds but they are only interested in turnover.

s4lvatore

Yea i believe you in the turnover bit. The plugs should be fine though in the greenhouse fleece thing I got though, right?

officeguru

I live in Scotland and I don't plant anything out until the end of May... I know that further south you can be weeks earlier... I plan to put my bedding plants into my coldframes at the end of the first week in May so that I have approx 3 weeks in which to harden them off....

Check the plants first to see if they need repotted.. They should be alright inside your plastic greenhouse as long as you use your fleece at night.. If you could place your little greenhouse beside a warm wall, the wall will help to keep your plants warm during the night (Like a storage heater) and they should be fine... I took the heater out of my greenhouse a few days ago so that the plants can toughen up a bit but I have fleece to put over them, if it gets really cold..

I hope this helps...

s4lvatore

yes it does help, thank you

savemoney

I put some French marigolds out last week and they are fine. I live on North Yorkshire Coast

angeltreats

I know absolutely nothing about gardening but having found myself with my first ever garden, I bought a load of bedding plants bag in March and planted them in the beds, not knowing any better, and then wondered why they weren't doing too well. I had violas, stocks, dwarf carnations and busy lizzies. I've lost all but one of the busy lizzies which I think is due to the cold (I've popped half a coke bottle over it to try and act like a greenhouse!) but the violas are coming back and starting to flower, and the stocks are very healthy looking. Makes me wonder why the garden centres sell them so early when it's clearly a bad idea to plant them at that time of the year.

peter_the_piper

angeltreats wrote: »

Makes me wonder why the garden centres sell them so early when it's clearly a bad idea to plant them at that time of the year.

Money.!!!
This is why I always suggest going to a local, family run nursery as they are more cautious about selling before time.It has been known for the sheds to have contracts with growers which mean that any plants which die or are not sold go back.

Whilst some people have warmed greenhouses I don't see any benefit in buying bedding before end April/start May. Down here most peoples winter bedding is just coming into bloom as they were set back by the snow etc.

officeguru

peter_the_piper wrote: »

Money.!!!
This is why I always suggest going to a local, family run nursery as they are more cautious about selling before time.It has been known for the sheds to have contracts with growers which mean that any plants which die or are not sold go back.

Whilst some people have warmed greenhouses I don't see any benefit in buying bedding before end April/start May. Down here most peoples winter bedding is just coming into bloom as they were set back by the snow etc.

What peter the piper says is true... None of my neighbours believe me when I tell them not to plant out their stuff but they think: 'what do I know... 'B & Qs, Homebase etc wouldn't sell them if it wasn't time, would they?' is what they say....

I go by the local parks department... When they start planting out their bedding plants, so do I...(usually at the end of May, although we can get frosts in June) after I have hardened them off, which can take several weeks.....

ALIBOBSY

B & Q et al hope people will buy a few trays of plants cheap on a decent sunny spring day, plant them out then a late frost will wipe most of them out and they will get a second lot of sales when customers have to come back for more.
Its very cynical, but they only want to make profit not give a good service, sad sign of the times particularly in the bigger players (both in gardening and all around shopping).

I grow alot of my bedding plants from seed as so much cheaper and mine are just germinating/sprouting in the GH now, won't go out till they are bigger in May. Other advantage is grown in a coldframe of unheated Gh at home they are hardier plants than the pampered heated force grown ones in alot of the big stores.

ali x

peter_the_piper

officeguru wrote: »

I go by the local parks department... When they start planting out their bedding plants, so do I...(usually at the end of May, although we can get frosts in June) after I have hardened them off, which can take several weeks.....

Good idea but nurseries try to sell the plants at the correct time for their area.If they turned everyone away cos its too early they would not sell anything. You local nursery will probably give you a warning before selling but if the customer is insistent then they'll sell to them. They have to live as well.