Bedding Plants
Most bedding plants are annuals, lasting only
one season, but tender perennials like geraniums and fuchsias
can live for years if you cosset them a bit indoors during
the winter. These plants can be hard work so are not suitable
if you want an easy to maintain garden. They need regular
watering, feeding and dead heading. They are very beautiful
so it is worth the work.
Bedding plants can be grown from seed which
is the cheapest method, but for gardening beginners it is
much simpler to buy them as plants.
Seedlings are supplied in small pots
or boxes with around 100 plants. These should be carefully
separated and planted in seed trays or individual pots of
good compost. In seed trays you should space the seedlings
at 5cm intervals so they have room to grow. Give them a
light position on a windowsill or in a greenhouse. Keep
them watered and they should be ready to plant by mid May.
Plug Plants are individually grown
in compost and it's easy to pop them out of the cells. You
should transfer them to individual pots and grow them indoors
before planting outdoors.
Plants are available ready to plant
outside once we hit early may. These plants are sold in
strips, boxes and pots. Strip plants are the cheapest but
will take longer to establish and root damage is common.
Avoid plants that are dry (feel light) or
pot bound (a mass of roots) and avoid tall spindly plants.
Care
They need regular watering especially in the
early stages when the plants are establishing a root system.
You should also feed the plants regularly.
