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plants for hanging baskets & containers
man in a shed
Posts: 93
in Plants
Hi there , never grown plants from seed before ,what type of plants would you recommend to start from seed for patio pots and baskets is it too late/early to sew I have an allotment and greenhouse, thought i'd save a few bob growing some plants we usually buy from markets and d.i.y shops , is it simply get seeds from shop read packet ? not really explaining this well am I ! is it the same principle as say growing tomatoes/courgettes etc i.e seed in compost, keep warm ... thx 
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It's still too early to sow most seeds. What sort of plants did you want to grow?
to be honest i'm not sure , I want to surprise my partner with lots of different plants for the numerous pot's and baskets , i'm the fruit and veg guy and she buys all the pretty flowery plants , I love the plants but she usually picks them,.so I think things like lobelia ,pansies .. not sure.. pretty ones with nice flowers , I promise I will take more notice this year, I think i'll just go to garden centre and buy packets of pretty looking ones, ok thx anyway
Hi Man in a shed I take it you are looking for annual bedding for baskets/pot. Begonia are excellent basket/pot you can get semperflorens and apricot shade ( trailing ) and many more variety's, you can still sow now but probably will not be ready for late May and can be tricky to germinate, but you can buy plug plants or pots with already germinate seedling what need pricking out into there own pots.
Geraniums ( Pelargoniums ) are also excellent very widely used, good for a centre piece in baskets or full pots, there is also trailing variety's. Sow now and you probably get flowers around July.
Petunias a most in my opinion, i am sure your parter will like them. Trailing and bedding varietys available. sow late Feb / March
Lobelia bedding crystal palace very nice with white Alyssum - lobelia cascading mix for trailing plants
Bidens ( trailing ) - Marigolds french / african - verbena - Busy lizzie - Antirritium - bedding Dahlia - minulus - stocks ( nice scent ) - sweet peas for baskets - calandula - mesembryanmum ( mouth full
) - gazania - Aster - pansys/viola - nasturtiums and plenty more. fuschia are good as well buy cuttings
Seeds packet have the instruction on the back, some are sow on the surface of the compost cause they need light to germinate.
Easiest ones to grow from seed would probably be lobelia - marigold.
thx very much , should I start the seeds off indoors on a windowsill ?
The principle is the same as for tomatoes etc, but some flowering plants need warmth (half hardy annuals, like petunias, begonias, dahlias) and some like it a bit cooler, though not cold. These are the hardy annuals like calendula and cornflowers.
Dwarf dahlias would be a good one for patio tubs as they grow fast and have large seeds. Lobelia, begonia and petunia have tiny seeds and grow more slowly, at least at the beginning, so you need to start them earlier , preferably in a propagator. They aren't too difficult with care, but are tricky to prick out as they are very small. Lobelia can be pricked out a few all together and grown as one plant. Pelargoniums are easy from seed but the seed is relatively expensive. The hardy annuals are easy as many can be sown direct into your pots if you wait until April or May.
Have a look at seed packets or look online at websites like Suttons or Mr Fothergills to find some things you fancy and follow instructions on the packets. Good luck.
thank you
You could'nt go wrong with some Cosmos seeds. There are varieties that only grow to 60cm or so and others over 100cm, you could have them at your allotment as well as the bees just love the single varieties. The foliage is beautiful and they're great for cutting too, they're easy to grow from seed and you can start them off end of feb/into march. You and your OH won't be disappointed.
Last year I grew a Tumbling Ted, the only one left on the shelf in the gc. Very successfully in a not ideal situation. This year I would like to try the same in hanging baskets. How many plants in a 16" basket is the question?
ta very much