Plug Information
Flower success!
​After many disappointing attempts of growing plants from seed, to finally have them strike, only to watch them flounder, I found plugs!
Previously plug seedings have only been available in large quantities for commercial growers of cut flowers. These plugs are grown professionally in optimal conditions with precise watering, humidity, and fertilisation to produce strong, healthy seedlings. In addition they are given the optimal day light hours and temperatures that create a seedling that is ready to grow and flower at the earliest opportunity. These growing conditions are pretty hard to replicate!
Once potted up or planted out plugs are eager to grow. They are the perfect shortcut to save time and effort, greenhouse space, and the ultimate heartache and frustration of trying to grow from seed. Some seeds are best left to the experts.
Additionally, some seedling plugs are grown from tissue culture, simply because there are no seeds available. Tissue culture grown plugs produce a premium plant, they are more expensive but ultimately provide you with more value for your money. New lines of tissue grown Statice are known to produce many more superior stems of flowers than seed grown plants.
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What to do when your plugs arrive.
It's Go Time, when your plants arrive, unpack your box straight away and give your plants indirect light for a day while they recover from their travels, if they are looking sad they should bounce back within a day. A watering with a seaweed solution will assist with any stress. They have been grown in Victoria and have had enough time outside to be hardened off and ready to plant out. If you are in a warmer climate give them a few more days to acclimatise to the change in climate. Remove your plugs from their trays by giving the little pot a squeeze and poking them out from the bottom, don't pull them out from the top. Bump them up into pots to grow them on and establish a larger plant before planting out. Or plant them out directly if you are confident with your garden beds/soil and can keep them watered while they are establishing bigger roots, Either method will work depending on your experience. Pots will still require regular watering too.
They will need overhead watering while they are establishing before moving to drip irrigation to keep water off the plant once established. Check product info on individual plants for plant specific information.
Happy Flowering!
Caring for your plugs
What to do when your plants arrive:
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Unpack your plants as soon as they arrive – even if you haven’t got time to plant them up straight away – they’ll need some air after being enclosed in their packaging.
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Your plants will need some recovery time after transportation, keep them moist and in a shady spot for a couple of days
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Ideally pot up each plug into into a 7-9cm pot, filled with a good quality potting mix.
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Protect them from snails & slugs
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Keep the pots moist, but try not to overwater.
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Encourage roots - water them with a seaweed solution
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Encourage growth and flowers with regular fertilising
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Know and understand your own climate and soil conditions to ensure the best possible crop from your plants
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