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| I'm hoping to hear from some folks who have dealt with ncfarmsinc.com or petunia plugs. I ordered a large amount of plugs that arrived yesterday thinking I could handle all of them before more consistent pleasant weather whereby they could be planted out in the garden.
In their specs they claim Petunias are okay with "growing at 50 degree nights or less temperatures" but they will take longer to achieve full growth. The hardening aspect is what I'm after. I do plan on keeping them protected if temps fall below 40 in a small heated area, but I'd like to plant them out sooner than the planned date in mid May. Originally I thought size had much to do with the success of smaller plants. But after testing some very early small Petunias that did not die off this past winter it seems not to be the case. Naturally they've been hardened even by surviving a frost. Yes, long question and probably needs more information...but what's your take on hardening? The next few evenings sound ideal with temps dropping progressively into the high to low 40's. Incidentally very nice plugs. Almost as large as one would find in a six pack annual package, but no way I could buy trailing Petunias at that cost.
I could have gone overboard. 300 Petunia plugs. The remaining coleus and angelonia will be protected and moved to larger containers the next few days.
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Fri, Apr 20, 12 at 8:57
| well.. i hope you started by watering ... the issue is not the ambient weather.. as much as where they came from ... most likely they were hothouse grown.. and i bet it never fell to 50 degrees in the hothouse .. i would put them in shade.. on the north side of a structure ... preferably the house ... and leave them there for a few days.. protecting at night if it gets real cold ... then move them to bright shade.. but less protection ... tempering both sun and temps ... for a few days.. [i would skip tempering to full sun.. due to the large plant in a small plug ... unless you are there all day to insure they wont dry out in full sun] and probably plant them within a week ... in your zone ... in my z5 .. i would be contemplating this in a month or so ... so dont forget.. its not only where you are.. but what circumstances they came from ... including the shipping stresses ... [hence the water and shade .. we need to unstress them .. before we stress them again with planting] ken |
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- Posted by gamountains (My Page) on Fri, Apr 20, 12 at 10:27
| Thanks Ken! They handled the shipping quite well. I was surprised, but they were packaged very professionally. Yupper, little buggers got some water and are gleaming with excitement on my shaded porch. I will do as advised with moving. They claim the plugs are moved to cooler temps the older they get in their greenhouses. It looks like a conveyer type system if you look close enough at some of the videos. |
Here is a link that might be useful: You Tube - Lead Time
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| What's the expected last frost date in your area? I'd think that it would be a lot sooner than mid-May. Anyway, petunias do very well in cool temperatures, even taking light frosts with aplomb. Be SURE that those nice plugs are completely saturated before planting. Sometimes, that fine-textured peat moss becomes hydrophobic. |
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| You will have to be very careful trying to hold plants in plug trays. These appear to be the size intended for a bump up immediately. If the foliage remains wet for any length of time, you will find they'll start to rot quite quickly, and you can lose large sections of each tray quickly from botrytis. You'll find it especially prevalent if any of those petunia blooms come into contact with the foliage when they start to fall. You may have to pick them off quickly as the blooms mature. Don't expect a plug tray to give you the same protection against frost that in-ground planting will either. Plastic trays draw off heat very efficiently and those roots will have little to no protection. Yes, petunias take cool. We used to move them out of the heated g'houses first when we began to overflow in late spring and they did quite well in an unheated house or even between the g'houses on the ground..........but they weren't in plug trays. |
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- Posted by gamountains (My Page) on Sat, Apr 21, 12 at 7:05
| Thanks Cal. I too have been concerned about what you mention. Originally I had planned on transferring every plug to small plastic cups for a few weeks, but after transferring 40 or so it looked more like a huge project I didn't want to face. I may revisit that idea. I have moved half of other plugs to an in ground type of greenhouse for the time being. Seems to stay quite warm and humid with the soil temp at 62. Plus it's tucked down in the woods well protected from winds. Planning on covering with straw if temps go lower early next week. 4' x 6' area handles about 200 plugs I have another similar area (larger) I could do the same with most of the Petunias. Getting them in the ground is much quicker than using individual cups.
As far as the dryness of plugs. I have noticed a few here and there, but I'm not just sticking them in the ground at will. Similar to loosening a root bound plant very gingerly seems to work. Thanks again folks! Btw this is related to... see link |
Here is a link that might be useful: Petunias on A Sloped Hill
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| Looks like you did a good job. |
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- Posted by gamountains (My Page) on Wed, Apr 25, 12 at 7:11
| Thanks Call. Unfortunately a critter fell into my protected greenhouse as it was camouflaged too well. No real damage. Has to be the neighbor dog. I keep telling him he has to watch his step around here. Temps in the protected area stayed at 56 degrees with outdoor temps at 30 yesterday morning. Petunia plugs were kept inside at 48 degrees. I actually tested six Petunia plugs and 3 Angelonia plugs by putting them in the ground the day after I received them. No protection at all. NC Farms must do a decent job of hardening. All survived with morning temps at 38 and 30 degrees the last two mornings.
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- Posted by gamountains 7a (My Page) on Wed, Apr 25, 12 at 7:15
| ...just comes over for dog treats every morning, but he does keep the critters away for me. Loves my rocking chair, waits for me.
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| Had to smile at your 'buddy' and gardening cohort. That's a sweet looking dog. |
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