This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Begonia plug plants
tonyandbren
Posts: 9
in Plants
Please could any one help. Last year I ordered Begonia plug plants that I had to pot on before planting out. I used a good quality seedling compost but all of there growth was stunted. After patiently waitig four weeks to pot into a multi purpose compost they all seemed quite small. I was advised later I probably used the wrong compost. Could anybody put me in the right direction please as I've ordered the same this year.
0
Posts
Seed compost has very little in the way of nutrients in it and is very free draining, your plugs were probably very hungry and thirsty last year.
Pot them straight into mpc this time, keep them somewhere sheltered (a greenhouse is ideal), and wait til they've bulked up a bit and the risk of a cold snap has passed before planting them out.
Thanks kitty. The
Thanks kitty. The seed compost was John inner number 2 . Should the mac be a particular type Ie more soil Base or any good mpc?
Who did you buy them from?
'You must have some bread with it me duck!'
Strange, JInnes number one is seed compost. Number 2 should have been fine
Did the plugs have the dreaded teabags around the roots? That could have been the problem.
Just to clarify what the "dreaded teabags" are I found a link to this thread from last year about them.....
http://www.gardenersworld.com/forum/the-potting-shed/tea-bags/988404.html
Thanks for your comments but how you understood my question i don't know.....blinking predictive text.
Thanks Tony.
Copied from yesterday to Jess is in the Garden
Posted: Yesterday at 23:15
"Tea bag" pouches are what some nurserymen (probably a machine these days) plant seeds into.
They are essentially the large versions of actual tea bags, They hold the developing seeds in compost bags but the bags do not expand and the roots cannot easily get through the tea bag fabric. The plant root cannot grow out as they should and the plant is stunted before it gets into your garden soil .
Those in the know now strip off the "tea bag" as soon as possible to let the roots out .
'You must have some bread with it me duck!'
Five weeks down the line and although the begonia plugs are now twice the size they don't look very healthy some of the leaf stems look white and rotten there now into 3 inch pots in my greenhouse I was expecting putting them out about now. Any suggestions ??