When is the best time to plant your super-plugs?

Autumn, or Spring.

Until 3 or 4 years ago, that would have been 'Spring, or Autumn', but for medium to large-scale projects, the hot dry weather from April onwards, has probably tipped the balance towards September and October being optimal.

Projects started in the cooler, damper autumn conditions, have time to establish slowly for 6 months, before risk of drought. It is also the best time to sow wildflower seed.

However, Spring remains the most popular and traditional choice, and that is just fine - as long as you watch out for unusually hot and dry weather as we enter May (and be prepared to water), and it is when we sell the majority of our plants.

However, summer is also fine if you are there to care for your teenage plants.

You can plant all year if you are doing pots, baskets, beds and containers, because you will water then - wont you?!

And you can also buy our plugs in the summer and pot them on, outside where you can tend them, to give you giant plants to transplant into your project, in the early autumn. This can be particularly effective if you are planting into grassland, where being an adult, rather than a super-plug, increases the odds of survival.

How often to water?

Not too often. Don't over-do it. You are helping them to survive. You must let nature take its course, to some extent. Over-watering can damage ecosystems, kill mini-beasts, and bring roots to the surface when they need to be going deep down, to give proper drought resilience.

Twice a week will usually suffice for the first month. After that, only to save the plants.