Petunia - in pouches

Petunias - in pouches

Can you forecast the number of flowers produced in a summer season by 12 petunias growing in a Thompson & Morgan Flower Pouch?

A Thompson & Morgan Flower Pouch just after planting

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Flower Power

Modern petunias have an enormous potential to produce large numbers of flowers. Plant petunias into a good growing medium in a sunny position, apply a little fertiliser, water regularly and you have the possibility to produce many flowers. The question is - how many? A competition sponsored by Thompson & Morgan (Young Plants) Ltd. was featured by Peter Seabrook in The Sun Newspaper.

How the plants were grown

'Doubloon Pink Star' petunia plug plants were planted on March 20th in Flower Pouches each holding about 8 litres of compost mixed with water- absorbent gel and controlled-release fertiliser with 12 plants per pouch. The pouches were hung on a south facing wall (somewhere in the south-east of England) in early April but protected under cover from frost when necessary. When shoots were about 5 - 6 inches long the plants were 'pinched out' to keep growth more compact and encourage flower production.

A liquid feed (NPK 1:1:1) was applied every two weeks starting 8 weeks after planting up the pouches.

Counting the flowers

Flowers which were produced up to the end of June, July, August and September were collected and counted. How many flowers do you think a 12-plant Thompson & Morgan Flower Pouch produced by the end of June, July, August and September?

Products used

The pouches used in The Pouch Petunia Game were those available on special offer from Thompson & Morgan (Young Plants) Ltd and supplied together with a controlled-release fertiliser mixed with water-absorbent gel to promote growth and make watering easier. We used the new Levington Plant Protection Compost in the pouches to encourage good quality plants and control pests, particularly greenfly which can severely damage petunias. Levington Plant Protection Compost is available in most good garden centres.