Summer Garden Plug-Ins
In another bed I had planted the petunias too far apart and not jumped on the extra fertilizer and water early enough to make them spread as they should have. Now I realize that they look like polka dots on bare soil. I made another mistake. I bought petunias in packs to fill in between the first ones. I didn't buy enough. If you want to fill out a planting in midsummer, the packs that are still available must be chosen carefully or you will be disappointed. By now they are mostly root bound and starved on the garden center tables and will not put on any appreciable growth when planted in your garden. The kind to avoid are easy to spot, if you take the trouble. Pick up a pack, pop one of the root balls out of the pack and take a close look. In most cases the space will be filled with roots that run tightly around the outside of the root ball. The entire plant and root ball will feel light for its size because there is very little soil left in the root area. Its stems and leaves usually will be far out of proportion with the size of the root mass. Often the lower leaves of such plants are dried and, if removed, would leave a leggy annual with leaves and flowers only on the top.
A much better value is the four inch pot of the same annual. It was probably started later and has had more room for the roots to develop. Pop it out of the container and you should see a more open root structure, more soil and few dried up leaves. One plant like this will fill a space that would take at least a four-pack of the same plant. Being younger and healthier, that one plant will continue to grow and blend with the rest of your garden. The root bound pack plants will continue to bloom for a while, but probably won't grow any further or fill out beyond their present size. If you must use these little plants to fill spaces in the garden for a special event, plant them cheek to jowl. Pretend they are just cut flowers with stems and you will get the spacing about right. They aren't going to outgrow their spot or crowd anything.
The view from your hammock will be much improved by these
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