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Bedding plants

Kat1989Kat1989 Posts: 51
in Problem solving
Last year I planted bedding plants pansy,snap dragons and sweet Williams in containers. They flowered and lasted well. I never got round to pulling them up and now a year on from planting them they are growing again. Could be down to a mild winter? I've scrapped back the top layer of compost and cut out any dead ones, mainly snap dragons. Is there anything else I could do to encourage them to carry on growing? Is it advisable to feed them now? 
Any advise please, 

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 86,151
    edited March 2020
    Hello @Sharronwildman  and welcome to GW forum 😊 
    Many of the bedding plants we treat as annuals are actually perennial in their home climate. 
    I would nip them back to promote the growth of new sideshoots so they will be nice bushy plants, and yes I’d feed them with some Fish, Blood & Bone or tomato fertiliser. 
    This may be exactly the right year to reward you for not having been too tidy last autumn, as we can’t get to the GCs at the moment  ...  as you say, a benefit of a mild winter. 😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Kat1989Kat1989 Posts: 51
    Thankyou @Dovefromabove

    Yes haven't managed to get any new bedding plants this year so this is great news.  :)
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 54,009
    Every cloud eh @Sharronwildman?  ;)
    As long as you have sufficient extra food to keep them going, that should work well enough.
    They won't be getting any nutrients from the compost they're in, so they'll need a wee bit of help. If you have any fresh compost, or are able to get any, you can also replace the little bit you've removed off the top, if that's possible.
    Not easy to get it in round existing plants, but that will help the look of them too.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • KiliKili Posts: 1,093
    Sharronwildman said:
    Thankyou @Dovefromabove

    Yes haven't managed to get any new bedding plants this year so this is great news.  :)
    Have you considered purchasing online from a company like Dobies.

    'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.

    George Bernard Shaw'

  • Kat1989Kat1989 Posts: 51
    Thankyou for the advise, yes I'll be ordering some other plants from dobies trying to keep the cost down as much as possible this year. I managed to get some compost delivered from my local GC so I can top up the existing bedding plants. I've seen some buds starting to form and fresh green shoots so fingers crossed. 
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,577
    Have you looked at the seed and plant swap thread? Many annual plants are very easy from seed
    Devon.
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