Getting the best from your Flower Pouches™

The Flower Pouch™ planting demonstration at last year’s Trial Ground Open Weekend, was one of the most attended so we thought we’d repeat our top tips for you. To get the best display in your garden, just knowing a few top tips will make all the difference between an average, and an astounding Flower Pouch™ display.

1. Mix slow-release fertiliser pellets into a general purpose compost.
2. Fill the pouch, ensuring the compost gets right into the corners and firm it down (don’t pack it really hard though).
3. Lay the flower pouch down flat and seal the open end with a clothes peg.
4. Push fingers in slits and gently push plug plants (flowers or dwarf beans/ tomato/strawberry plants) in and firm compost around the roots.
5. Leave one plug plant spare and pot up in a 3 inch pot to use later (see point 9).
6. Water each plant in and leave clothes peg on.
7. Key tip! - Leave the pouch laying flat for a few weeks until plants are fully rooted. You should be able to tell by looking at the plant growth. (By leaving it flat for a few weeks you allow the roots to establish and spread and keep the compost in place).
8. Once the plants are established and growing well, remove the clothes peg, turn the right way up and hang. Choose a sunny wall or sturdy fence.
9. Now pop in the potted plant you kept back, right into the top of the pouch to ensure really full coverage.
10. Water regularly and enjoy the display or crop.

Sue Foster, one of our horticultural team who was giving the planting demonstration last year, said "it’s the slow-release fertiliser and being patient for a few weeks, leaving them flat so roots can develop, which makes a big difference. You can also grow salad leaves, but this would mean at stage 4, you simply make the holes slightly bigger and sow mixed salad seeds; the rest of the stages would be the same".

We also have some really useful 'how to' videos, view the video below for more information on how to plant up a flower pouch™: