Perennial Pot Production

Follow the instructions below and most plant varieties should be marketable for spring sales in 6-10 weeks from growth of new foliage.

Arrival of Your Shipment

• Open the boxes immediately and inspect your shipment. Any shortages or damages must be reported within 5 business days of receipt. If you are unable to plant right away, we suggest the following:
• Store your bare root perennials for a short time at a temperature between 35 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• Open the boxes for good air circulation to discourage surface mold growth. (surface mold is not harmful to firm and otherwise healthy looking roots and can be rinsed away prior to planting)
• Plants such as Cerastigma, Delphinium, Echinacea, Perovskia and other varieties may not have visible top growth when received. This does not mean the plants are dead. These cultivars emerge from root or tubers and are late to break dormancy. Be patient. To assist in their breaking of dormancy, warmer night temperatures of 65-70 degrees will help.

Priority Plants

• Begin by potting up the bare root perennials from your order, followed by the potted plants.
• If your potted plants were shipped in mini greenhouses, remove the plants from the mini greenhouses and place the plants in a lighted area at a temperature between 50 and 60 degrees.

Containers & Soils

• Most varieties are ready to be put into 1 gallon pots. Use a well draining commercial potting mix with a low nutrient charge. Take care in handling roots during the planting process, they are living plants. Roots should be firm and pliable, and can be soaked in a tub of room temperature water for up to 1 hour as you plant to re-hydrate the dormant roots.

Moisture Requirements

• Water your newly potted perennials sparingly, over watering is a major cause of death among plants. Roots exposed to cold, wet conditions for extended periods are at risk for root rot. However, pots should also not be allowed to dry completely between watering.

Temperature Requirements

• It is important to keep recently transplanted perennials above freezing. Most importantly keep pots from going through freeze-thaw cycles caused by daytime warming and nighttime freezing, which will surely kill your plants.
  
• Mulch or place straw around pots to insulate and maintain more consistent temperatures. Begin growing in cool temperatures (45 F) for maximum root growth prior to new foliage emergence, this will ensure a strong, healthy, stocky plant rather than a spindly, weak, pale plant.
• After several weeks, slowly raise temperatures to 55-60 F to finish pots. As temperatures moderate in your climate, pots can be moved outdoors.

Fertilizers

• Initial watering can be at 50-75ppm. Begin feeding at 150ppm 2 weeks after planting and continue approximately every 10-14 days, alternating with clear water until plants reach saleable size. Feed after that point only to keep plants green at 150ppm using a 14-0-14 alternated with 13-2-13 is optimal or similar formulation. Under sunny conditions a 17-5-17 may be required. PPM may vary with different media so it is important to test.

Lighting

• Plants such as Artemisia, Coreopsis and Echinacea are long day plants and need to be lighted from 10PM to 2AM to force properly. If growth becomes excessive, lighting may be discontinued.