Perennial Problem

I got carried away one night and ordered a bumper pack of perennials from Thompson and Morgan.

They arrived yesteday and were all from 5 cm pots and needed potting up into 9cm pots.

My question is, after potting these up, how long does it normally take before they are ready to be planted out, and how late in the season can you plant out perennials as some of these have died back quite a bit already?

Thanks

Nobreath

 

Mmm, not too sure about this one, but I would perhaps say wait until the spring, and plant them into the ground when they are actively growing.

On the other hand, currently the ground is warm, and the plants will benefit from that, but not seeing the plants, I'm not certain as to how strong they will be cope with over wintering in the soil.

In my garden, I would perhaps wait until the spring, so that I could have a good think about where they are to go in the garden, and prepare the soil where they are going to be planted, and I'd over winter them outside, but with protection especially if we have some strong frosts.

Hope this Helps!

 

It also depends what perennials they are. I plant young plants out in autumn if they are classified as full hardy, but they're usually larger and therefore less likely to survive.

 

Jings Nobreath, that's a tough one.
I think the real problem is T & M shouldn't be sending plants as small as that to Edinburgh this late in the year.
I start perennials early summer, pot them on later in summer so that they are quite well grown plants ready to go in the ground now - but that doesn't solve your problem.
You could pot them into bigger pots now - but honestly I don't think you have enough growing year left to get them big enough for planting out. Some of them will already have given up for growing this year and going into their dormancy period.
Do you have a greenhouse ? Can you pot them on and keep them in the greenhouse overwinter and grow them on in the spring ?
Or you could e mail T & M and ask them for their advice.
Good luck.

 

I've already potted them all up but I don't have a green house. I have stuck them in an old cold frame for the moment. Will this be sufficient to see them over the winter, and will I continue to water them as normal throughout the winter.

I think I will e-mail T&M for their advice as suggested.

Apologies for the daft questions, but I really am a complete newbie.

 

I think keeping them in a coldframe is the best thing you can do. I would only water them sparingly over the winter and not at all when it's cold. The coldframe will give them the protection they need and hopefully they will grow a bit in the mild spells.

I agree with Alice......think T&M shouldn't be sending out very small plants this time of year.

 

You can always pack fleecing around the plants within the cold frame when (or if) we have a really harsh spell again. It will give you peace of mind, and will keep the plants warmer.

Hope this Helps!