First time trying to grow a climber ..
Renata Boyle
Posts: 74
Last year I got some petunia's (I think they were same 'Purple Rocket' as shown in the photo) - they went berserk, it was fantastic and lasted for months, they spread all the over the floor though and this year I thought I would try a frame.
Saw this on Morgan & Thomspon, frame looks good but pot looks a bit flimsy (feedback on webpage complaining they fall over) so was wondering if I should use the half barrel I used last year?
Also, I'm not very good with the tiny pluglets so could I find them in a bigger plant any garden centre? (they were a Lidl one off last time).
Where do you plant them when using a frame? around the outside and then train the shoots to move upwards? I'm not sure what month it was when I planted them originally, when would you set this up?
Posts
If you haven't bought that yet I wouldn't. Better to use your half barrel and buy a metal obelisk/climbing frame from a garden centre.
have a look on the T&M website for plants or do a google search. Unless you have a very big/good garden centre near you may not be able to find them locally. Lidl is ok for plants but cannot be relied on to have the same plants two years in a row.
planting times will vary depending on your situation - there can be up to three weeks difference between north and south and sheltered and open site And the weather. I think the earliest you could plant out in the south and in a sheltered position would be mid May. Here in central Scotland I wouldn't put bedding plants out until beginning of June.
I've had some rotten experiences with T&M plugs which are always much smaller than you would expect for the price and you struggle to establish them. I agree you would be best off going for larger 'jumbo plugs'. You can google the variety you're interested in, but watch out for T&M masquerading behind other storefronts. Right now is very early in the season and most plug plants of any size will only be available in 5 weeks or so. Look for them then online and in large garden centres. A tub with a climbing structure in it is excellent but go for a frost-proof ceramic one if you can afford it, it will be less likely to blow over in high wind! My inclination would also be to go for something wider at the base than in that picture.
Where I am in Cambridge I put my tender bedding out in the third week of April and never have any problems.
Do post a picture once it's in full bloom...
Thank you Hogweed and Cambridge Rose - I have definitely decided to try find an obelisk (what a strange word that is) and then put it in one of my sturdier pots.
I will also wait for the bigger petunia plants as you suggested, I'm not sure which type the one's I got last year were but they went absolutely nuts and they were SO cheap, was really happy how long they flowered, I didn't even know what petunia's were lol - My sister said they 'ramble' rather than climb but I'm sure if I did a bit of tying they would climb up a frame.
this is what they did last year - if you know which type these were it would help my search, or if you know of anything similar ... I bought two different colours - do you like my gargoyle?
Your pinkish one looks like 'Purple Wave'. Not sure about the other. Your gargoyle looks as if he's going to eat them!
LOL Cambridgerose, I had to bring him in, the local wildlife were complaining about him flying around at night and scaring them ....