Plug Plants

ERICS_MUM

I'm thinking of buying a selection of annual bedding plant plugs instead of getting them "grown on" at a garden centre (I need a lot so plugs would be a lot cheaper). I'd transfer them into small pots on arrival.

I know I can't plant outside until mid May (live in East Anglia usually quite mild by then), but don't have enough indoor space to keep them until then.

So my question is: could I keep them in a cold frame in my south west facing garden, in the corner formed by 2 house wall during April ?
I could put down a thick layer of newspaper, bubblewrap etc to protect their bottoms. Would they grow or just stay dormant until the weather warms up ?

Your advice gratefully received

Thank you

Linda xx

Del_Astra

I'm not sure about your part of the country, I'm further north, in Central Scotland.

What I would do, is keep an eye on the weather forecast, if over night frost is predicted you might want to bring them in. Ideally you would want to harden them off, leaving them out during the day but bring in if frost is forecast. Don't just listen to forecast, look out the window, what is the weather doing, (I've brought plants in at mid night as I thought we might get frost on clear night).

Do you need to buy them all at once? You could pot up what you can store in the house first, gets these hardened off then do more in a few weeks time. Do you have a garage or garden shed you could use overnight, you will need to get up 20 mins or so earlier to move them back out in the morning. Some people say I'm crazy for doing this, but hey I've grown them from seed its worth it IMO.

Where are you sourcing the plugs from? I noticed Aldi had some on offer in my local store at the weekend, they did need some tlc. These were instore, although some places do plugs that are out during the day so already started to harden them off. A good nursery will offer local advice, which of course you don't get this from Aldi / pound shops.

What I tend to do when hardening off is leave some out overnight but not all (I grow from seed) that way you don't lose the lot if the worst happens, especially with Tomato plants. I've only every lost Tomato and Pepper plants but I was pushing it and had extra. I tend to find bedding plants are a bit more hardy, but it will depend on the actual plant I suppose, would do a bit of research on the plants you have in mind and what temps they will tolerate.

I also prefer to have them raised a bit from ground level, so if we do get ground frost they are a bit higher. I tend to use a cheap blow away for this, I have one along the lines off the one in the link below (although this looks better than the one I use). Although I only paid a tenner for mines and its in 4th year of use (or will be shortly). You do get cold frames along these lines but these tend to be more expensive - see 2nd link.

http://www.primrose.co.uk/-p-23307.html?adtype=pla&kwd=&gclid=CPGlxqORhrYCFfLLtAodSn8AKA

http://www.primrose.co.uk/2ft5-1ft9-wooden-growhouse-p-6359.html?cPath=696&src=list_name#style=2270&size_ft=&brand=&material=


Keep the trays they come in, use them next year to grow your own from seed. Some water storing crystals in the bottom / just add water, fill the trays with seed compost and away you go. one seed per hole and see what happens. Its much more exciting when they pop up.

peter_the_piper

We have had, over the years, a lot of people who went down the plug plant route without a heated greenhouse to grow them on in. By the time it came round to plant them out they had lost quite a few so in fact the bedding packs would have worked out cheaper in the end. This is in the the south east.

grannyjo

I bought plug plant geraniums last year. I nurtured them on the kitchen windowsill. By May when I planted them out they worked out more expensive and smaller than the pot plants locally - in Liverpool. I enjoyed a bit of the fun aspect but will not bother again. I do try seeds though, quite successfully and cheaper.- jo

annie123

I'm in London and do that every year with bedding plants. I grow veg from seed but no room for flowers too.
Mine get shoved under a 99p store long plastic cloche on the lawn and are fine. If frost threatens then they get a fleece over the lot.
They only thing I make sure I do is buy them from somewhere that hasn't had them under cover, like homebase for example where they're kept outside so they don't need hardening off.
hth

sobie

annie123 wrote: »

They only thing I make sure I do is buy them from somewhere that hasn't had them under cover, like homebase for example where they're kept outside so they don't need hardening off.
hth

Don't rely on the fact that because they are outside during the day they are not moved under cover at night. Most Garden Centres (including my own) put plants outside during the day, then once their closed they get loaded onto danish trolleys and moved indoors every night. Wheeled out in the morning, put back on the benches and watered before opening. Its hard work but we wouldn't have it any other way.

Also it is impossible to harden off tender plants they will always be tender. Hardy annuals however can be hardened off.

elsien

I do plug plant bizzie lizzies, geraniums, and whatever else in my local independent nursery catches my eye.
They don't live anywhere heated as I don't have the room. They're either in the unheated back porch or in an unheated mini greenhouse. Hardened off during the day, and protected at night by fleeces etc depending on the weather forecast. I keep them on trays so that if a particularly cold spell is forecast they can go on the dining room table overnight then back out again the next day. Plus it makes them eaiser to move around as some places get more light than others.
I don't tend to lose that many and it does work out a lot cheaper than waiting and buying the full bedding packs, although (probably due to my benign neglect and not getting round to pinching out, feeding properly etc) they don't grow as well or as quickly as those done by the professionals. They get there in the end though.
I'm in the midlands.

ERICS_MUM

thanks to everyone for your helpful replies, especially Del Astra for taking the time to give me such comprehensive info.

I will give the plug plants a go but only buy one or two packs and see how it goes. I have been tempted with seed and might start off with something like sunflowers and tomatoes.

Thanks again

Linda xx

cyclonebri1

I've normally gone the plug plant route but for the last few years my best local garden centre which still has the old nursery owner in charge, has been selling small 3 " pots of annuals from Feb on through March as an example because I counted them, I got an average of 75 seedlings, geranium, petunias etc out of a single 3" pot:T:T

It's cheaper than buying seeds, they only charge £1-50 per pot.

But yes of course, they still need lots of care for a few months, difficult if you don't have the space or say a conservatory.

ERICS_MUM

It's just as well I haven't stirred myself yet to buy the plugs or even assemble the cold frame ! It's been snowing for hours here in deepest darkest Essex !

cyclonebri1

ERICS_MUM wrote: »

It's just as well I haven't stirred myself yet to buy the plugs or even assemble the cold frame ! It's been snowing for hours here in deepest darkest Essex !

It snowed from 2am fri and it's still snowing slightly at 8:30 sun

About 8" on the flat but 4ft drifts is the problem on exposed roads due to the freezing wind. You Southerners have it too easy ;):D

On a serious note I have an unheated conservatory full of stuff, some at risk some not, I banked on one week of crappy weather. It now looks like we are going to be into a 3rd at least.
Even got a tank full of koi carp in there waiting to go out, have had to put a heater in that.:cool::cool: