How to care for your plug plants

So you’ve ordered some plug plants and waited eagerly for them to arrive.  Great news – they’re here!  But many new gardeners may be asking “What do I do now?”  This is a complete guide on how to care for your new plug plants.

When your plug plants arrive we recommend that you unpack them as soon as possible.  Our jumbo size plug plants should be potted into 9 or 10cm pots, using a good quality multipurpose compost.  We like Jack’s Magic compost for potting on, as it is very fine.  Don’t forget to include your free colour label for each plug so that you can identify them as they grow!  Your plug plants will need to be kept on a sunny windowsill or in a greenhouse.  Your plug plants will need to be kept at a minimum of 7 degrees Celsius.  If you are planting hanging baskets or patio containers, your plugs can be planted straight into them, as long as they will be kept inside in the warm!  You can read our step by step guide to planting a hanging basket here.

If you have purchased our mini-plugs, we recommend planting them into small 5cm pots, or seed trays with inserts in.  We would not recommend planting mini-plugs straight into hanging baskets as the plants really need to establish their roots in smaller pots first.  Again, keep your mini-plugs in a heated greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill.

Whilst your plug plants are in their early growing stages, we recommend that you are careful not to overwater them.  Keeping the plug plants quite dry will encourage root growth, however it is very important not to let them dry out completely!  The compost should be kept moist, not waterlogged, but also not dry and dusty.  This is particularly important with Geranium and Begonia plugs as they tolerate dry conditions and do not like to be overwatered!  Most good quality composts will have feed in that will last for the first 4-5 weeks after planting.  After this point you can feed your plug plants once a fortnight with a good quality multipurpose feed.  Once your plug plants are in flowers, feed them weekly.

Once the frosts have passed your plug plants will be ready to plant out into the garden.  Please refer to the specialist pages for further information on particular plant varieties.

Visit our website to view all of our varieties.