Plugs

[JennieAtkinson]

As this is my first season with a greenhouse I decided to buy from T&M a selection of mini plug flowers. I have never done this before as normally they are sent out too early for what I thought was ok for me to pot on in the polytunnel this far north.

So ......... they arrived yesterday. Crikey they are tiny little plugs.

So ........ how do I get the bloomin' things out of the tray I have tried poking them up from the bottom and shaking them out and pulling them (gently). They are quite dry, so I thought that would be ok. Even if I do manage to get them pulled out the stems are all growing around each other and I am losing half a plant.

OK .. I need help. I've done about half so far. Any advice please?

They are Pansy Can Can (about 150 plants!) and Sirene Starburst (about another 150!).

[nick the grief]

Hi Jenny,

You need to water them and leave them over night, the roots will come out a lot easier then. If they are dry the tend to stick to the sides and you can damage the roots. Also they get away better if the root ball ( well not really a ball at that size ) gets away better than if they are dry.

Didn't they supply a bit of dowel to poke them out with - most companies usually do.

Hope that helps

[Alison]

Have you got one of those little plastic mini dibber things that you use when planting up? I've found that if you water them as Nick says and they push that gently from below they will come out. If that fails then your best bet is to gently cut theh plastic away with a pair of old nail scissors. You're right though, they look a lot smaller in your hand than in the mag! Should still grow on well though.

[rustylady]

Give them a good watering before you even attempt to get them out of the trays Jennie! Yes, they are small, but they should get away well when you prick them out. A pencil or a straw helps to get the "rootball" out of the plug - shove it up through the drainage hole (pardon the expression)