Grower Secrets
The plants always look so beautiful at your favorite garden center. Have you ever wondered how they grew that way? C’mon let me show you some of the grower’s secrets.
Today I am with Sandra Showles at JDS Nursery where we will see how beautiful plants are grown for you.
The propagation house is the first stop. Most plants start off as rootless cuttings and are grown in small cells. The cuttings may take two to three weeks to root and hormones are used to encourage root formation. Automatic mist comes on to raise the humidity and keep the cuttings from wilting.
The next step is to transplant the rooted cutting into three to four inch containers. Over the next four to eight weeks fertilizer and water are carefully applied to encourage the small plant to develop healthy shoots and roots.
When ready, the plants are shipped to local garden centers. Or they may be transplanted again into a larger container. This beautiful hanging basket of Blue Bird Nemesia, Red Wave petunia, Wink Garnet Diascia, and Plentifall pansies will soon be over flowing and ready for market.
From start to finish it may take Sandra from eight to twelve weeks to produce a salable plant.
So next time you take some these gorgeous plants home, remember the care the growers put into those plants to make them beautiful for you. I’m Gary Bachman for Southern Gardening.