The arrival of bedding plants signals that spring is officially here! Each year, our greenhouses are filled with beautiful flowering plants, ready to bring color and life to your garden beds.
Whether you’re planting an expansive flower bed or just adding a few pops of color, we have options fit for every yard:
- Flats of bedding plants (32 plugs each) – Ideal for covering large areas with vibrant blooms.
- Six-inch potted annuals – Perfect for filling in gaps or creating focal points with more mature plants.
How to Garden with Bedding Plants
Soil Preparation
For healthy, long-lasting blooms, start with nutrient-rich soil. Mix a blend of quality topsoil, organic garden soil, and compost into your flower beds, working it into a depth of four to six inches. Level the soil before planting to create an even surface.
Planting Techniques
- For peat pot plants: Plant them directly into the soil, pot and all.
- For tray-grown plants: Gently remove them from containers, separating them as evenly as possible.
- Mulching Tip: Apply a two-inch layer of shredded mulch before planting—it’s easier than working around delicate plants later.
- Spacing: Place plants six to eight inches apart, keeping them at the same depth they were growing in their tray.
- Boost Growth: Use a nutrient-rich planting mix and a starter fertilizer to encourage strong root development and minimize transplant shock.
Watering
When first planted, if the weather is hot, sunny, or windy, plants should be watered at least once a day. Do this for a week or until the leaves do not wilt between waterings. After that, or when the weather is cooler, once a week should be enough. In hot weather, every three to four days may be necessary.
Additional Care Tips
To encourage fuller growth, pinch the tops of young plants when they reach about six inches tall. Regular feeding with a balanced plant fertilizer every other week will help maintain continuous blooms throughout the season. Additionally, using an all-purpose insect control method will protect your plants from unwanted pests and keep your garden thriving.
Bedding Plant Varieties Available at Meadows Farms
Remember, the bedding plants listed below are just a selection of the varieties that Meadows Farms carries. Please call your local Meadows Farms for other varieties or special requests.
Description: Small compact plant that blooms all summer in blue, pink, or white clusters.
Grows: 4-6 inches tall / 6-10 inches wide
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Availability: Spring
Description: Graceful arching sprays of delicate feathery foliage.
Grows: 18-24 inches tall / 8-10 inches wide
Light: Full sun
Availability: Spring
Description: Good color in late summer. Flowers in white, pink, lavender, and red.
Grows: 6-12 inches tall / 6-12 inches wide
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Availability: Spring
Description: Low, compact annual flowers in white, pink, or red. Leaves are green or bronze.
Grows: 6-12 inches tall / 8-10 inches wide
Light: Light shade to full sun
Availability: Spring and summer
Description: Good summer color. Blooms are bright yellow, orange-red, apricot-orange, pink, or purple.
Grows: 33-36 inches tall / 6-12 inches wide
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Availability: Spring and summer
Description: Grown for its brightly colored foliage in shades of pink, red, bronze, yellow, maroon, and more.
Grows: 3-36 inches tall / 6-18 inches wide
Light: Shade to partial sun
Availability: Spring and summer
Description: Good summer into fall color. Flowers are a variety of colors, except blue.
Grows: 12-24 inches tall / 6-18 inches wide
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Availability: Spring
Description: Showy annual has beautiful two-inch flowers in pink, purples, reds, and whites.
Grows: 6-12 inches tall / 6-10 inches wide
Light: Full sun
Availability: Spring
Description: Grown for its silvery white foliage. Treat as an annual.
Grows: 8-16 inches tall / 8-10 inches wide
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Availability: Spring
Description: Good color all summer. Flowers in colors of red, pink, salmon, orange, or white.
Grows: 12-24 inches tall / 8-15 inches wide
Light: Full sun
Availability: Spring
Description: Puff-like annual flowers on long, strong stems. Blooms all summer.
Grows: 6-24 inches tall / 6-12 inches wide
Light: Full sun
Availability: Late spring and summer
Description: Colorful woody annual with showy flat heads of red, pink, orange, or yellow flowers.
Grows: 24-36 inches tall / 12-18 inches wide
Light: Full sun
Availability: Late spring and summer
Description: Low plant with brilliant blue, white, or purple flowers.
Grows: 4-8 inches tall / 4-6 inches wide
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Availability: Spring
Description: Single or double flowers in shades of yellow, gold, orange, or bi-colored with red or brown stripes.
Grows: 6-36 inches tall / 6-18 inches wide
Light: Full sun
Availability: Spring and summer
Description: Fragrant, star-shaped tubular flowers in lavender, pink, red rose, white, or yellow.
Grows: 12-36 inches tall / 6-18 inches wide
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Availability: Spring
Description: Biennials that produce a profusion of flowers of various hues during cooler months.
Grows: 4-6 inches tall / 6-8 inches wide
Light: Full sun to light shade
Availability: Early spring or fall
Description: Annual with dense clusters of star-shaped flowers. Available in assorted colors.
Grows: 10-18 inches tall / 12 inches wide
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Availability: Spring and summer
Description: Spectacular, low-growing annual in various colors. Flowers form along entire length of stems.
Grows: 6 inches tall / 3-4 feet wide
Light: Full sun
Availability: Spring and summer
Description: Colorful summer groundcover in hues of red, yellow, white, pink, or purple.
Grows: 4-8 inches tall / 10-15 inches wide
Light: Full sun
Availability: Spring and summer
Description: Bright colored annual is an especially strong performer in early spring. Available in most colors.
Grows: 4-6 inches tall / 6-12 inches wide
Light: Full sun to light shade
Availability: Early spring only
Description: Flowers from May to frost. Flowers are bright red, pink, mauve, purple, or white.
Grows: 6-30 inches tall / 6-12 inches wide
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Availability: Spring
Description: Blooms May to frost. Flowers in shades of red, pink, yellow, orange, and bronze.
Grows: 4-6 inches tall / 6-12 inches wide
Light: Full sun
Availability: Spring
Description: Low, compact, spreading annual. Flowers through summer in white, pink, or purple.
Grows: 4-8 inches tall / 6 inches wide
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Availability: Spring
Description: Annual with tubular flowers with purple petals and white throats. Profuse bloomer!
Grows: 10-12 inches tall / 6-10 inches wide
Light: Full sun to shade
Availability: Spring
Description: Good summer color. Flowers a red, blue, white, pink, lavender, or yellow.
Grows: 6-8 inches tall / 12-18 inches wide
Light: Full sun
Availability: Spring and summer
Description: Good summer color that blooms in shades of pink, mauve, or white. Tolerant of heat and humidity.
Grows: 4-18 inches tall / 4-6 inches wide
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Availability: Late spring and summer
Description: Evergreen trailer with pale green leaves and a creamy white margin. Blue flowers in spring.
Grows: Rapid growth to a length of 2 feet
Light: Light shade
Availability: Spring
Description: Blooms from June to frost. Single or double flowers in a wide range of colors.
Grows: 6-8 inches tall / 6-12 inches wide
Light: Full sun
Availability: Spring