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Plug plant fails

NewbieGardenerSW17NewbieGardenerSW17 Posts: 10
in Problem solving
Hi
In late March/April.I bought about 50 plug plants fr T&M. I followed the instructions to the letter, even bought special seedling compost, & popped them in my 'greenhouse', but I have lost about 80%. 5 lavender 'giant' plugs were dead in less than 3 days. The remainder are no bigger than they were on arrival, but I've put them in the ground anyway, in despair. Any tips for getting them to thrive in future? Has anyone ever got postiplugs to work?
To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.

Posts

  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    It's  a bit of a cheat, this. Plug plants, delivered in good condition, can be great, but they need very special treatment and sellers are vague on this, to say the least.

    First you need the right temperature and light levels for each variety of plant. They have to be grown on and potted up several times before hardening off and planting out. 

    Just having a greenhouse may not be enough, they can be too cold and too hot in 24 hours. I'm surprised the lavender died so quickly, they may have been in a bad way when they arrived.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    What was the aftercare you gave them? They wouldn't have needed any special compost - a MP compost would have been fine. Plugs [ depending on size] would normally be potted on in an appropriate sized pot. Is that what you did?
    Was the greenhouse ventilated well? Tiny plugs would fry in a greenhouse in April if there wasn't sufficient ventilation. It's a fine balance between giving them protection and having them get overheated. It would depend on the plant, but many might not have needed a greenhouse, just basic protection from frosts and colder conditions, or inside your house where it's easier to get a more stable environment. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Arthur1Arthur1 Posts: 542
    They will have been produced in an environment with ideal temperature, light levels, RH, food and water. This is unlikely to have been replicated since.
  • floraliesfloralies Posts: 2,718
    I agree with all the above, and also were the roots wrapped in anything like a mesh or other material?
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    All the plugs I’ve ever bought have the roots wrapped around, you have to untangle them, put them in a pot a little bigger than the plant and pot them on again.
    Seedlings compost on it own would probably have been too wet for lavenders, they need to be kept dryish.  I grow lavender from seed every year,  they don’t over winter here so I have fresh plants each year.

    I don’t think they give enough instructions with plugs,  but once you learn how to pot them up and what conditions they need, they’re a good cheap way to fill you garden.

    When I first started this garden,  digging very large beds out,  I couldn’t possibly have bought plants,  one plant in here looks silly, so I bought a pack of 72 small perennial plugs from J. Parker,  all grew on well and I planted them out the following late spring, since then I’ve never bought a plant,  just transplanted what I have.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

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