Anyone grow basket plants from seed?

[Containergardener]

....petunia, bacopa etc etc
Not something I've tried before.

[Thelma Sanders]

I've grown, geraniums (pelargoniums) petunias and lobelia in the past - if they count? Fairly easy if you have a propagator and also somewhere warm to grow the seedlings on, once pricked out into modules (frost-free greenhouse or warm window ledge?)

[Containergardener]

Yes that's the kind of thing Thelma . Thanks .
I'm using house window ledges

[smallblueplanet]

Don't sneeze on the petunia seeds! Hardest thing I found was the potential for over-watering the smallest seedlings, but not as bad if kept warm. Enjoyable but we've gone back to buying them from a supermarket (oh the shame).

[Containergardener]

I can't drive yet as have knee injury so was thinking about growing them myself. Not sure yet.

[bramble]

Container garden, yes, they are easy to grow from seed but they tend to be slow growing.
If you have somewhere warm get them started now.

[mcdood]

If you try lobelia my advice would be to prick out in a bunch of 5-10 as the seedlings are too fiddly for me to do individually. I just scoop with a teaspoon and then plant on into modules.

[Containergardener]

If you try lobelia my advice would be to prick out in a bunch of 5-10 as the seedlings are too fiddly for me to do individually. I just scoop with a teaspoon and then plant on into modules.

That's my kind of pricking out too
Thanks

[Babru]

I'm trying to buy as few container plants as possible this year, by sowing my own, in the interests of saving money.

So far, geraniums, snapdragons, verbena, swan river daisies sown and pricked out. Sweet peas coming up (sown outside). Nemesia sown but no sign, same with datura (been a while too).

I'll be keeping them all on windowsills until it's warm enough to put them in the cold greenhouse or out in the garden (April/May).

In the next couple of weeks I'll also sow cosmos, miniature sunflowers and french marigolds inside.

Lobelia has such tiny seed, and costs so little to buy as plants that I'm not growing my own.

I'm trying to go for things that are expensive or harder to buy as plants, or varieties I particularly like.

In April I'll sow a few things outside - poached egg plants, nasturtiums, pot marigolds and whatever else I fancy.

I'm enjoying having a go. Last year I grew a fair few things successfully, but am trying far more this year.

[bramble]

Babru, way to go.
Learn from experience...
Good luck and patience is king.

[mothhawk]

I usually grow petunias from seed for baskets, but I've got tired of dead-heading them, which you need to do to keep them flowering, it needs doing every day and runs to dozens of flowers in each basket. This year I thought I'd buy a few surfina petunias and make more plants by taking cuttings.

[mcdood]

I stopped growing petunia due to the incessant dead heading. Not a task I enjoy, made more unpleasant by the stickiness of the plant . After a while I'd end up with scraggly stems with a few flowers on the end

[Thelma Sanders]

I'm beginning to wonder - if - by the time you've bought all the seed, some packets aren't cheap are they?, plus the compost (plus extra modules/pots - if you need them) if you actually do save money growing your own...
What do grapes think?

[bramble]

Thelma, no I personally dont think you save money growing your own.
Lidl and Aldi sell trays of bedding plants dirt cheap and all ready to pot up.
I used to grow mine from seed but they take ages to come to maturity.

[Containergardener]

Agree , dont necessarily save money but when I'm already seed sowing anyway plus our aldi plants never look good and lidl is in such a ridiculous place to get to.