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newly planted perennial plugs
i had 36 perennial plugs two months ago and have gradually put them into bigger pots as needed. as i am new to this , do i keep putting them into bigger pots till next year? i only have a shed with a little window. should i build a cold frame before winter or can you suggest what i do with them. they have been like my babbies and i really look after them
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I've just started potting mine on for the 2nd time from 2.5 inch pots to 5 inch, they'll stay in these ones until spring next year. I haven't over-wintered any plants before (apart from a chilli my aunt oddly decided to sow in October), but I have a cold frame where they will hopefully be ok during the winter.
There are plenty of places you can cheaply buy a coldframe from, at this time of year they will probably be on special offer too.
Good luck with your plants.
I received mine in July and some are still a bit small, but like Hollie-hock I have planted my foxgloves out now. The rain has ensured that they are well watered in! I'm hoping to do ths same with the most of rest during the next month or so, rather than have to look after them in pots all winter. Also, if they did get too big for pots during the winter, I wouldn't want to plant them out in cold weather. I do have a plastic mini-greenhouse so if necessary I can leave some of the smaller ones in there over the winter, although I'm hoping not to have to do this.
I got a really cheap cold frame from Amazon, it's one with the corrugated plastic,it came as a flat-pack and was relatively easy to build. I have it on a sheltered area of the patio, and so far it's not been blown about (although it might have been if it wasn't in a sheltered area, it's not that heavy).
It was only about £20-30, but I'm a cheapskate and also addicted to land rovers, so money is always tight. This was a bargain, and allowed me to start some seeds earlier than I would normally have. The downside was it was so overcrowded due to our late summer!
I was reassured to hear on GW that penstemons (which I know nothing about) are disliked by slugs and snails and safe from attack, so at least that's one hazard they're safe from. Some of the slugs around my compost heap are bigger than most of the plug plants at the moment.
I'd expect lavenders to over-winter OK - I have some very small ones in the border that have been there since last year, they seem quite hardy. I'm still not sure about the rest.