Advice from horticulturalists

[CB008]

Despite reading an earlier post on how difficult it is to establsih a wild flower meadow, I have 500 plug plants waiting to be planted to form the basis of a wfm. My question for more experienced gardners is this - I have had these plug plants for 2 days already yet I am reluctant to plant them with such low night time temperatures. Is this the best course of action to keep them in trays until such time as conditions are better? Would it be safer to plant them now and hope for the best? I am in a complete dilema and would appreciate advice on the best course of action. The plugs cost £250 so i need to get this right.

 

[madasafish]

If you plant in frost, the plants will not establish and the ground will likely heave - so you would end up having to tamp them in again at a later date. Covering with fleece would help.. but with all the risk of winds moving the fleece.

What storage facilties eg greenhouse do you have?

 

[CB008]

If you plant in frost, the plants will not establish and the ground will likely heave - so you would end up having to tamp them in again at a later date. Covering with fleece would help.. but with all the risk of winds moving the fleece.

What storage facilties eg greenhouse do you have?

None really but I could stretch to a ploy tunnel. At present I am leaving them out on a table during teh day and putting them in the garage overnight. I am not sure how long I can do that for without the plants suffering though as it could be weeks at this rate.

 

[Snail368]

With the current temperatures and ground conditions the best advice is to wait to plant. You could either heel the plants in (in their containers) into soil - i.e. bury the roots to their normal depth in their containers and wait or possibly continue as you are doing. The key issue to to avoid the roots getting frosted, however you must also not allow them to get warm (so don't heat the garage) as this will encourage them to grow.

The ground conditions need to be unfrozen soil, not saturated and hopefully warmer than now.

I would wait 2 weeks and see what happens.

For what it is worth, I should have planted our early potatoes, parsnips, etc by now. I haven't because the ground conditions are far too cold - so they would suffer and perhaps die.

Good luck!

 

[Skyhook]

The big question is where they've been raised. If they were produced outside they will be hardened off and be ok to keep outside: if not, then possibly not. I agree best to plant them out when they can start growing, but until then the tunnel sounds a good option.

The biggest problem is getting overwhelmed by grass. Mow the area CLOSE before planting, then either spray off spots with glyphosate, or scalp them eg with a mattock, to give the plugs time to grow before the grass establishes.

.

 

[CB008]

Responders - Many thanks for your expert advice which I will now follow. ( I even know what a mattock is now !)

 

[Erichalfbee]

I have some for my "meadow"
I am potting them on and leaving them in the greenhouse for now.

 

[alanf]

Plugs sound an expensive way of establishing a meadow. If I were planting now for a meadow patch expected to last a few years I'd be using a perennial seed mix but undersown with an annual seed mix to give some show this year.

Plugs, if already obtained will be responding to day length so best kept in cold frames or protected by poly to harden. Then planted with some protection - improvised poly tunnel, cloche tunnels or fleece while the current cold spell lasts.

 

[enrico]

Buy loads of bio degradable 2.5 inch fibre pots, or 5 cm plastic pots and spend a leisurely afternoon potting them all on. That way they will live for longer, keep in a cool light place. Keep just moist.

 

[Skyhook]

I have some for my "meadow"
I am potting them on and leaving them in the greenhouse for now.

Buy loads of bio degradable 2.5 inch fibre pots, or 5 cm plastic pots and spend a leisurely afternoon potting them all on. That way they will live for longer, keep in a cool light place. Keep just moist.

I will beg to differ here. You want to be planting them out ASAP. as soon as it stops freezing; otherwise it will be too warm when you do want to put them out, and they will need watering.

 

[victor meldrew]

I planted a hedge of "pot grown" holly a couple of weeks ago . I did lay weed suppressant fabric and pegged fleece over the top.
The weather will probably take it's toll !
Trouble with evergreens being, they look ok but could be dead. Only time will tell!
VM


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[peteinwilts]

Plugs sound an expensive way of establishing a meadow. If I were planting now for a meadow patch expected to last a few years I'd be using a perennial seed mix but undersown with an annual seed mix to give some show this year.

Plugs, if already obtained will be responding to day length so best kept in cold frames or protected by poly to harden. Then planted with some protection - improvised poly tunnel, cloche tunnels or fleece while the current cold spell lasts.

I bought a couple of kilos of seeds a couple of years ago, and not a single one came up. Plugs sound safer!

 

[Skyhook]

I planted a hedge of "pot grown" holly a couple of weeks ago . I did lay weed suppressant fabric and pegged fleece over the top.
The weather will probably take it's toll !
Trouble with evergreens being, they look ok but could be dead. Only time will tell!
VM


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Holly should be pretty bomb-proof.

 

[oliver90owner]

I would seek the advice from the supplier.

 

[thorn]

Holly should be pretty bomb-proof.

Only when birds plant it for you, not when you do it yourself.

 

[alanf]

I bought a couple of kilos of seeds a couple of years ago, and not a single one came up. Plugs sound safer!

Things can go wrong. Couple of kilos of seed would cover something like 500 square metres. That's a scale where keeping it watered, maybe covered and the pigeons off isn't trivial. But tens of thousands of plugs isn't a cost effective option on that scale either.

 

[MJBee]

I was clearing fallen trees in my wood yesterday (woodburner fuel for 2015) and was surprised at the number of holly seedlings, dozens of them between 18 and 50cm tall. "Planted" by birds?