Large plants in small pots dry out quickly, so remember to choose relatively large containers.

Care is much easier when the substrate doesn't run out of water and nutrients too quickly, and the plants grow and flower far better.

Pindstrup Nursery Substrate

When pots are outside, they are exposed to both sun and rain. They dry out rapidly on sunny days, whilst there is a risk of overwatering when it rains.

Pindstrup Nursery Substrate therefore contains a mixture of light and dark moss peat with good water-retaining properties.

The addition of coarse fibres also provides good drainage, which carries excess water out of the pot effectively (there should always be drainage holes in the bottom of the pot).

Planting up
Put enough Nursery Substrate in the pot for the plants to sit at the right level. Annuals are normally planted 10-15 cm apart. Fill the gaps between the plants with substrate and firm in. Remember that there must be plenty of space for watering at the top.

Hanging baskets and
tower pots

Nursery Substrate can also be used for other types of container. Tower pots and some hanging baskets have planting holes in the sides.
In this case, push the root ball in through the hole and firm the substrate around the roots.

Dividing plants

Many herbaceous perennials can be propagated by division, e.g. Campanula, Geranium (cranesbill), Dicentra (bleeding heart), Alchemilla (lady's mantle), Veronica, Hosta, Armeria (thrift), Bergenia, etc.
You can fill beautiful pots with cheap plants in this way.

To divide a plant, split it into small pieces (each with its own roots) and replant.

Taking cuttings

Most fruit bushes and shrubs are easy to propagate from cuttings, as are many annuals and herbaceous perennials.

Cuttings are easy to root in pots or trays containing Nursery Substrate. Cover the cuttings with white plastic – to prevent them from drying out – until new roots have formed.

Once the cuttings have rooted, separate them carefully and plant them out or pot them up separately.

Feeding

The easiest way to feed plants is with slow-release fertilizer when planting up the containers.

Once pushed into the substrate, Pindstrup Ferti-Cote Tablets will feed the plants for the rest of the year.

Top-dressing with bark

Top-dressing with Decorative Bark has the advantage of reducing evaporation from the compost, which therefore does not dry out as quickly.

Pindstrup Decorative Bark comes from French stone pines. It has a lovely reddish colour and is graded to make it ideal for pots.