Summer bedding plants are an excellent choice for adding vibrant colour to your garden, filling gaps between shrubs or border perennial flowers, and covering bare ground in a cost-effective manner. They can also make attractive flowering pot plants for greenhouses or homes. In this article, we will guide you through the process of raising, planting, and maintaining summer bedding plants to help you create a stunning garden display.
Selecting Your Summer Bedding Plants
Some popular summer bedding plants include petunias, busy lizzies, and bedding begonias. These plants not only offer an interesting color mix with other annuals but also thrive in pots, greenhouses, or indoor settings.
Raising Your Summer Bedding Plants
Begin by sowing seeds of half-hardy annual flowers in pots or trays of quality seed compost in the second week of March. For slow developers like geraniums, busy lizzies, and snapdragons, start sowing a few weeks earlier. To prevent damping-off disease, use clean trays and purchased seed compost. Follow the sowing instructions on the seed packet, and keep the tray in a warm, well-ventilated space.
Prick out seedlings about two weeks after emergence, spacing them 5 centimeters apart in trays of fresh compost. Harden off the plants about ten days before planting by exposing them to outdoor conditions during the day and bringing them in at night.
Planting Your Summer Bedding Plants
Prepare the ground by digging and incorporating around 70 grams per square meter of general fertilizer. Ensure the soil is moist and fertile for optimal growth and flowering. While most summer bedding plants prefer full sun, some, such as bedding busy lizzies and bedding begonias, can tolerate light shade.
Plant the bedding plants in straight rows, spacing them about 30 centimeters apart. Adjust the spacing depending on the size of the plant. Timing for planting varies by region, but generally, aim for early to mid-May in the south and coastal areas, and mid to late May in the midlands and north. Avoid planting too early, as cold weather can stunt growth.
Caring for Your Summer Bedding Plants
Water the plants after planting and regularly during dry spells. Monitor for slugs and snails, using slug-killer if necessary. Hoe between rows to prevent weed growth. Discard annual summer bedding plants after they finish flowering in October, but retain any perennial types.
Planting Pots and Containers
Plant pots and containers in early May if you have a greenhouse available. Use trailing types of plants, along with fuchsias, miniature roses, cordylines, or small conifers to add bulk to your containers. For optimal growth, mix half soil and half peat, adding a small amount of general fertilizer to each bucketful. Ensure containers and hanging baskets are well-watered throughout the season.
Summer bedding plants provide an affordable and attractive way to brighten up your garden. By following these guidelines on raising, planting, and maintaining your plants, you can create a stunning and vibrant garden display that will last throughout the summer season.
