Even after bouts of heavy rain, it’s surprising how little water will actually reach the compost, which can remain bone dry due to the While May is the month to plant your summer bedding there's one pitfall you should avoid - planting it too early while there's still a risk of frost. Some bedding plants are easier to maintain and keep looking good all summer than others. Bedding doesn't have to be the sole source of colour for your display. Also to stop the plant becoming a tangled knot by half way through the summer, you need to remove the tendrils as well, see the image below right and tips on growing sweet peas. Easter weekend is one of the busiest weekends for garden centres and plant nurseries and it is a great temptation to buy lots of plants for your garden – even garden designers are susceptible! It’s a firm favourite with wildlife – pollinators and birds are drawn to this variety as it offers food and shelter. How to plant bedding plants in beds & borders Step 4 Use a trowel to dig a hole a little bigger than the pot or container the plant will be removed from. Bring bedding plants out of the greenhouse, or other warm spot where they have been living, and stand them outside every morning in a bright, sheltered site. The eye-catching and exotic lily-like flowers of these alstroemeria will be the stars of your summer displays, giving months of vibrant colour from June to October. Bedding plants are relatively easy to grow from seed and you don’t need a greenhouse. This should help to encourage more colourful flowers. Planting Videos How to Plant Million Bells Discover how to plant colourful It’s time to plant summer bedding. Learn how to grow summer bedding from seed, below. The shops and on line are full of bedding plants and young vegetable plants. Brighten up your borders by growing summer bedding from seed. Essential Bedding Guide: Bedding 101. Remove dead flowers heads to allow for new … Rootgrow Mycorrhizal Fungi. You may benefit from using a grow lamp, particularly if you’re sowing in January. Examples include French marigolds (Tagetes patula), petunias (Petunia x hybrida), snapdragons (Antirrhinum), and wax begonias (Begonia semperflorens).Furthermore, they can often be encouraged to bloom even better with some deadheading on your part. A Quick Guide To Growing Summer Bedding Plants . Most bedding varieties can be started off in a propagator in January or February in a greenhouse or on a warm windowsill – the earlier you sow the seeds, the better, because bedding takes a few months to get to the flowering stage. Water the plants in their pots and trays an hour or so before you plant them, to make sure that the compost is properly moist. Another plant which is currently being examined and may have potential as summer bedding for pollinators is Sanvitalia procumbens, which is available in yellow and orange. Water well. Sweet pea is a great summer bedding plant and provide plenty of fragrant, gorgeous cut flowers during summer. Bedding in pots and baskets requires watering every day, especially during the summer months. Why not check out the blogs: 'How to plant up a hanging basket with summer bedding plants', 'Best tips for looking after summer bedding plants', 'How to plant up a container with summer bedding plants' and 'Best summer. So, find your plants and favourite pots and let’s go! Most can be started in seed trays and then pricked out and grown on but there are a few hardy annuals which need to be sown directly where they are to flower including borage, California poppy , Nigella and poppies . You may benefit from using a grow lamp, particularly if you’re sowing in January. Red berries grow on sleek green leaves to increase the aesthetic appeal of this bushy shrub. How to use Summer Bedding Plants. Luckily, in South Africa we are blessed with a gorgeous selection of bedding plants to choose from, and many of these can be grown in containers as well as in garden beds, so visit your local garden centre … Plant Use in Summer Bedding (Bedding Gallery Page) Flowering Months range abbreviates month to its first 3 letters (Apr-Jun is April, May and June). Ready, steady, grow: Alan Titchmarsh on planting summer bedding HEAD for your local garden centre. [1] [2] Plants used for bedding are generally annuals, biennials or tender perennials; succulents are gaining in popularity. They will thrive in a seed tray or pots covered with a polythene bag on a windowsill. Compost. Once the plants are planted out, keep some fleece handy with which to cover them if frost is suddenly forecast. Euonymus, bergenia and corokia pot display, Alstroemaria 'Hybrid Mix': £1.58 per plant. A table displaying which months are best to sow, plant and These sturdy, sun-loving plants are well suited to hot, dry conditions and flower all summer through to the first frosts. Prick out the biggest seedlings and pot them on into individul pots, where they can grow without competition. Each bulb will bear up to 30 flowers each year, and are ideal for the back of borders in pots, or make stunning cut flowers. Our pre-order plug plants are delivered to your door at the start of the growing season for a summer of dazzling colour. Replace the compost in your tubs and baskets and then you are ready to plant some pretty bedding plants for autumn and winter colour. Most seeds need a steady heat of 18-21°C to germinate, so consider investing in a heated propagator to maintain a constant temperature. Pack your flower beds with drifts of colour with our collection of bedding plants. Garden centres will be full of plants from early april onwards. It’s a firm favourite with wildlife – pollinators and birds are drawn to this variety as it offers food and shelter. Successional planting: Many public gardens change the bedding displays twice a year, replanting in late spring (for summer) and early autumn (for winter/spring). When summer bedding plants come to an end, the garden can start to lose its colour and need brightening up. Another plant which is currently being examined and may have potential as summer bedding for pollinators is Sanvitalia procumbens, which is available in yellow and orange. Feeding Garden Plants. Find advice on growing pretty summer bedding plants, including petunias and nicotiana, in our simple practical guide, from BBC Gardeners' World Magazine. Most seeds need a steady heat of 18-21°C to germinate, so consider investing in a heated propagator to maintain a constant temperature. Check the hole is the right depth and add or remove soil from the bottom of the planting hole as necessary. One of the most exciting things about summer is filling our gardens with bright, beautiful blooms. The secret of germinating summer bedding seeds is a good supply of warmth and light. Bedding plants are the glamour plants of the gardening world and like to be treated as such, so before planting dig over the soil thoroughly, ideally incorporate some compost, then fork in a … The climatic conditions are a better indicator than the date as to when you can plant your summer bedding plants. One such tender bedding plant is the sweet pea which grows in a wide range of colours and gives off a delightful summer fragrance. Each bulb will bear up to 30 flowers each year, and are ideal for the back of borders in pots, or make stunning cut flowers. It is also very tolerant of drought. Spread the seedlings out in a seed tray or transfer them to individual pots. Bedding plants are typically relatively short plants that bloom for a long time and are packed with flowers. Bedding-Plant Ideas by Season While summertime is prime time for bedding plants in the North, do not think that you are without options for injecting quick, inexpensive color into your landscape during spring and fall. Busy Lizzie If you have a shadier bed and borders, then Impatiens summer bedding plants will give you plenty of large flowers in plenty of colors from reds to … If the weather is dry, give the plugs a little water on arrival and they will be ready to pot up or plant out within 48 hours. Semi tender such as Agapanthus, Canna Lillies may survive outside if covered with a heavy mulch and provided they are in a reasonably dry spot they will survive in many areas, if in doubt pot into containers and overwinter in the greenhouse. Even though we’re keeping water usage to a minimum, we can still create a colorful impression with a few well-placed pockets of annuals. The secret of germinating summer bedding seeds is a good supply of warmth and light. It has a trailing habit of growth, again making it very They become available (often as what are referred to as "plug plants" [2] ) in nurseries and garden centres during spring, to be gradually " hardened off " (acclimatised to outdoor conditions) by the purchaser and finally planted out around the time that the last frosts are expected. They can be used for lighting up a patio, deck, balcony or even a dull spot in a border. Enjoy towering lilies with gigantic, scented blooms. Let them grow around netting, obelisks, or wigwams where they will reach heights of 6 feet or try the dwarf variety for ground cover on borders and in front of beds. I will share how I do mine and any tips that I have. For a successful summer bedding display, don’t bring your plants out of the greenhouse until you know the frosty nights are behind you. Many gardeners bring variety through Trailing Plants and Climbing Plants. Plant up containers with summer bedding for glorious displays throughout the summer months. This is because Mesembryanthemum when in full bloom produces dozens and … It is beneficial during the summer months to deadhead the plants to help encourage and improve growth. If you want to buy established plants, seedlings are usually available through mail order. With this in mind you can still take the opportunity to plant for this summer now and this is perhaps the best possible time to plant tender bedding plants such as begonias and salvias. On the first For your bedding plants to flourish, you should provide them with a regular feed throughout the summer to provide them with additional nutrients which will encourage better flowering and a stronger, healthier plant. Euonymus, bergenia and corokia pot display, How to grow sweet peas in pots from plugs, Alstroemaria 'Hybrid Mix': £1.58 per plant. Bedding needs to be planted at the same depth as it's in the pot or tray, making sure the top of the root ball is level with the soil surface. At the first signs of mould, which forms on leaves as grey fuzzy powder which collapse to the touch remove the plant and any leaves to stop it spreading. The climatic conditions are a better indicator than the date as to when you can plant your summer bedding plants. Bedding, in horticulture, refers to the temporary planting of fast-growing plants into flower beds to create colourful, temporary, seasonal displays, during spring, summer or winter. Step 1. Summer bedding plants add instant colour to your borders, hanging baskets, and planters and containers, transforming your garden in time for those sunny day BBQs and celebrations. How to plant Summer Bedding Geranium plants Your Geranium (Pelargoniums) should be unpacked and allowed to breathe upon arrival. We show you how. From the team at Gardeners' World Magazine. My family are thinking of getting their summer bedding, handling basket and container plants next day (22nd April) such as marigolds, petunias, busy lizzies, stocks etc. They might want to sell them, but that does not mean that it is the right time to plant them. Space your seeds evenly over the compost. Our bedding range features hundreds of summer bedding varieties, from the much loved, popular varieties to some unique and unusual types that are certain to add something a little different to your garden. Once ready for potting up we recommend that you use a well-balanced compost mixture, such as John Innes Number 2. How to grow summer bedding – planting out. Summer bedding plants are sown from February to April; winter and spring bedding plants are sown from May to July for planting out in autumn. All right then, go ahead and plant! Gardening Calendar. The Victorians were great ones for summer bedding plants, and here we look at some suitable plants for 21st century bedding designs. 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