After a two month hiatus we are back at it again. Hard to believe we even had a winter this year with some days in the 60’s. This was my first time golfing in February so it feels a little strange that we only started planting a couple of weeks ago. Even stranger that it won’t be for another couple of months until those beautiful annuals that we have come accustomed to can be planted outdoors.
All of the smells that I love about spring are slowly coming back since we started planting on February 13th, officially kicking off our year. Geranium cuttings have already started rooting, we have planted our first batch of shade baskets – both monoculture and mixed baskets. New Guinea impatiens, streptocarpella, tradescantia, bridal veil, fuchsia, and begonias have also been planted! After all is said and done we will have planted over a million plants in our greenhouses. Early on it feels like we have all the space in the world but by mid to late March you are wondering where you are going to find room to put everything.
Pansies are a great early spring plant that we offer. These annuals are a little hardier than your other annuals and offer a nice color to your front stoop or flower beds in early spring. We planted our first batch last week and they have already started to show growth.
Other than our geraniums and a few cuphea patio pots we typically hold off on our sun plants for the first few weeks of the growing season due to the rapid growth of the product. The goal is to have a nice compact plant in May. Planting them too early gives them an opportunity to get too leggy and over grown. Keeping the growing temperature in a certain range is also very important for the plant growth. We grow all of our plants at a 68 degree temperature. This limits the leaf unfolding rate and gives us the opportunity to not use any PGR’s on our product. Another practice that is important and sometimes overlooked is the amount of watering. It is extremely important to keep them more on the drier side. This limits soil borne diseases and pests, and in a confined area such as a greenhouse this is extremely important because diseases and pests are able to spread quickly. Unfortunately, once you start to see signs and symptoms on the plant it is generally too late and you are out a crop.
If you’re looking for a quick fix of an early spring and flowers, don’t forget about our Moss Basket Days. This event is a great event for the whole family and a great way to kick of the 2017 summer! Come in, plant little tiny plug flowers that we grow for you from mid March until Mothers Day weekend and turn into beautiful full planters that you get to enjoy all summer long! Sign-ups are still available and are happening March 11th, 14th, and 18th. Spring is here ladies and gentleman come on in and feel free to walk the greenhouses!
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