Bedding Plants

[Lesley Jay]

I need help and advice please. I need to grow a large quantity of bedding plants from seed to fill our front garden and I haven't got a clue!! Can I sow them early and get them out of the way to make room for my vegetables in the greenhouse? Are the seeds sown in a pot and then transplanted?

Then I need advice on what varieties to grow. I am definitely growing Rudbeckia - a few varieties, Love Lies Bleeding and Mesembryanthemum but then I am stuck. Can you suggest some tall plants and also some low growing plants please? How far apart roughly should they be spaced?

Thanks in advance!

[nick the grief]

You don't want much do you

Depends how early you sow your veg Plants really LJ & when your last frost is.

When you say large quantity how many do you mean?

I sow mine in either 1/2 trays or the half pots ( about 4" ish then prick them out into either normal seed trays or plug trays depening on what they are.

Stuff like Lobelia (the normal not trailing) and Allysum you could sow straight into 40 cell packs just a small pinch per cell. I guess you could do the same with marigolds or Tagetes ( I prefer these to marigolds). Salvia's always do good round here as well.
Asters are reasonably tall & you can always cut a few for in the house. then there are the bedding dahlia's Redskin is a good one as the foiliage is er red well reddy green.

Cosmos is another good one can be got in various sizes. And if you want really tall how about sunflowers (you can get some nice dwarf ones as well)

Planting distance will depend on the plants

[Earthbabe]

How tall is tall LJ? How about Hollyhocks?

[Lesley Jay]

Thanks Nick I will write all the names down and look for them in my catalogues. Quantity wise my Dad used to grow about 1000 plants every year. I usually start sowing my vegetable seeds in March so the greenhouse will be bursting at the seams! Wouldn't Tagetes be better with one plant per cell? Height wise I guess about 30 inches which is the height of most of the Rudbeckia.

[Lesley Jay]

Earthbabe I have just looked at the photo in the catalogue and Hollyhocks looks lovely. It would be too tall but I have one flower bed next to a wall. This is not very sunny though would it grow there?

[Earthbabe]

I've got some in partial shade that did well last year. My main problem was that they ended up being too close together and as they are prone to rust this didn't help.

[nick the grief]

Hi LJ,

Been having another think. 1000 plants is about 25-30 seedtrays full so you can have plenty of variety in that lot. So I think a good list of sorts & colours would be

• Lobelia - Dark blue through to pinky white's
• Allysum - White
• Marigolds ( or Tagetes) - gold thru to lemon (save seed for next year)
• Salvia's - You could sow some of the species as well for som e Blue flowers & save the seed for next year
• Asters - single colours or mixed
• Geraniums - ringle colours or mixed ( probably just as cheap to buy them as seedlings
• Nicotiana - how about lime green for a change
• Agerartum - Blue, mauve & pink - Blue mink is a good one
• Cosmos - mixed
• Cleome - spidery flower but flowers well & long mixed colours
• Bedding Dahlias - Redskin is nice as the floiage is attractive
• Heliotrope - Cherry pie attractive foilage & purple flowers with super scent

Then you could have a few dot plants in amongst them

• Fuchshia's - take your pick of colours!
• Canna's - some of the darker leaved ones would look good
• Lillies - various colours but not long flowered
• Dahlia's (taller ones) - David howard - orange, Bishop of Llandaff - red Moonfire - golden yellow, Roxy - Purple They all have nice dark foliage

The taller Dahlia's you can save tubers for taking cuttings next year. The bedding dahlia's you could save seed from them if you don't grow taller ones or you could save some of the tubers & take cuttings of single colours.

As to your other comment, yes Tagete's are sown singely sorry that wasn't very clear when I typed it.

[Lesley Jay]

Thanks Nick that is a cracking list to work from. How I am going to fit them all in the greenhouse with my vegetables - I don't know! Are the 'dot' plants bought as plants or are these from seed aswell?

[nick the grief]

Fuchshia's - Buy some early ( around now if you can get them) & take your own cuttings
Canna's - usually sold as "tubers" or later on as plants
Lillies - I bought mine as bulbs this year (3 for £1 I think)
Dahlia's (taller ones) -
Bishop of Llandaff - Tuber from Garden centre get them early & take your own cuttings

These three you might have to hunt for, I can give you an address if you want of a couple of folks who sells pot tubers or cuttings - PM me if you want the address

David howard - orange,
Moonfire - golden yellow,
Roxy - Purple

As regrds space, thats easy - get another greenhouse like me

[Lesley Jay]

If I buy fuchshia's now to take cuttings will I need to put the heater on in the greenhouse? Don't normally put it on until January when I start sowing the leeks and onions. As for another greenhouse - I don't stand a chance!

[bramble]

Yes, there are a few fuschias that are frost hardy but the majority are in need of shelter and some heat especially if they are young plants.
You could also grow Lupins, they would look nice at the back of the border as they give some height and a good variety of colours.
Good Luck Lj.

[nick the grief]

If I buy fuchshia's now to take cuttings will I need to put the heater on in the greenhouse? Don't normally put it on until January when I start sowing the leeks and onions. As for another greenhouse - I don't stand a chance!

seeing as they are small cuttings you could get away with the window sill till January

[martini]

Lesley, some of the non-climbing nasturtiums are really nice and easy to grow and you could grow some dwarf sweet peas. You could start the sweet peas now in a cold frame which would free up some space. I also like Godetia and the Shirley Poppies as they're colourful and easy too.

[rustylady]

Do they have to be bedding plants (annuals) LJ? They're an awful lot of work and you have to keep pulling them up and replacing them with the next season's stuff.

What I've done (and am still doing) is getting in as many perennials and bulbs as I can and just using the annual bedding plants to fill in the gaps. I know some "experts" advising lifting bulbs every year, but I just leave mine in the ground and they seem to do well. I have daffs, crocus, tulips and snowdrops for spring, miniature gladioli for summer. Also things like Delphiniums, oriental poppies, dwarf michaelmas daisies and physalis (chinese lanterns) which die down during winter but come up again next year. A few shrubs such as lavender, weigelia, forsythia give a framework (OK it's a sort of modern cottagey garden, but it works for me).

I would only go for the annuals (bedding plants) on a large scale if you want to do formal beds

[Slug]

I've always found pansies pretty good - and if you get the universal ones then they flower through the winter. My pansies have been in a few years now and just keep dying back and starting again. I get bursts of flower through the winter and summer - they just keep on and on going....!!! Very worthwhile plant in my opinion, for some all round colour