Today there are many excellent bargains to be found with mini-plug plants, ideal for hanging baskets and pots.  But where do you put 99 – and those 20 extra free – petunias, pansies, etc?  Pots all over the place, constant replanting until they are ready to go out...

Use Rootrainers.  Just dib them in, and leave them there until you want to plant them out. 

Too early?  They can wait – they won’t get pot bound.

Too late?  Nothing else will ensure faster growth to make up time.

The grooves ensure there is no root curl and fast, straight, deep root growth is assured, and when the roots pass through the bottom of the pot, they get pruned off, encouraging the strong lateral growth that is so essential for healthy plants.

This is achieved by air pruning.  You have nothing to do.  The air will dry the root off.  It is like nipping out the bud of a new plant to encourage new shoots to grow, or pruning a bush.  The more the roots are pruned, the healthier the plug and the plant. The plants do not become pot-bound and you are saved the need to re-pot.

When you come to plant it out, there is no need to knock it out, bash it out or tease it out; open the Rootrainer, take it out, plant it up.  No disturbance, no check and quick growth.

Now there ia another Ronaash product to make life easier - The Rowplanter which is based on the traditional method of gutter planting.  This method has been proven to give plants a head start and with this product transplanting was never easier - just slide the entire row into the prepared trench with no root disturbance and no need to space or dig endless holes!

If you have not had the time to sow seeds early on or the facilities to look after them then now is the time to buy bedding plants as plugs from the garden centre and they will grow on quite happily without needing heating and special conditions until the weather is warmer and they can be planted out into the garden.

Most types of bedding plants are available as plug plants and are sold in the garden centres and mail order catalogues in modular trays or they can also be grown from seed in the unique modular tray system known as Rootrainers which has definite advantages over the normal modular tray systems-  the main advantages being that plants grown from seed in Rootrainers do not need to be potted out before planting outside thereby saving on compost, extra pots, disturbance to the plant, space and time and at no stage of the plant's growth will the roots become potbound due to the grooves inside the cells which ensure healhty straight roots systems.

All of us are familiar with plug plant trays and the plugs which look like this:

Plug plants are ideal for hanging baskets and pots, but unless the weather is free from frost you cannot plant the plugs outside and so you will need to repot the plugs into pots to prevent them becoming rootbound.  (Remember, this process is not required if you are using Rootrainers).

The first step, once you have brought your plug plants home or they have achieved maximum growth for the cells they are in, will be to fill a Sherwood Rootrainer  with moist multipurpose compost and firm the surface  and leave until ready to be transplanted.
 
Lastly, water well with a fine spray so as not to damage the delicate stems.  Place on a sunny windowsill or in the greenhouse till all danger of frost is passed (late May/early June) and the plants can safely be sited outside.

Once ready for transplanting simply open the "books" and transfer the plant to its position with absolutely no root disturbance at all.

The Rowplanter is also an ideal product to plant the plugs in and let them grow till ready for transplanting when all that is needed is to gently slide the whole content of the row out into the prepared trench and there is absolutely no root disturbance and th plants are sited exactly as you wish.

Now you can proudly sit back and enjoy a wealth of colour and fragrance in your garden with a minimum of effort.