If you love changing the look and feel of your garden each year then annual bedding plants might be best for you. With these wonderful plants, you’ll be able to add an abundance of colour throughout the spring into the autumn for you and the local wildlife to enjoy. Find out how to grow bedding plants in our helpful guide below.
On receipt
• For most jumbo plug plant collections, the “mini Greenhouse” they are packed in will have a label on the outside, listing the individual varieties inside. We recommend writing your own labels out on receipt!
• Give your plugs a little attention on arrival – unpack them immediately, and either mist them or stand them in water for an hour – they may be slightly dry or yellow after being in a dark box in the post, but they’ll quickly recover. If you can’t do this, they can sit in Mini Greenhouses for a week if upright and not too wet.
• We recommend that you leave them to settle for a day somewhere warm, light and airy such as a windowsill or greenhouse.
Planting bedding plants
• When you’re ready to pot on, use a good quality, multi-purpose compost, and fill 3-4in pots (7-10cm).
• Make a hole in the compost with a dibber or your finger, then holding each plug by its root ball, place it into the hole and gently firm the compost around it.
• For great results, we recommend using Windowsill Planters or 9cm pots in Shuttle Trays.
• Give your plants a good water initially, then only when the top compost starts to dry as they don’t like to be left in standing water.
• Grow on either on a bright windowsill or a greenhouse for 3-4 weeks before potting up into containers or into flower beds.
• If planting directly into flower beds when all risk of frost has passed, prepare the ground well, removing weeds and digging in some compost or well-rotted manure if your soil is not already rich.
• Plant approx. 20cm (8in) apart to allow them room to grow.
Aftercare for bedding plants
• Feed using a high-potash feed such as Blooming Fast Superior Soluble Fertiliser for Flowers & Fruits, to encourage flowering.
• Water well, ensuring the ground is somewhat damp but not soaking, at all times.