Weekly Greenhouse Updates and Tips
I will post videos from my greenhouse here as we go along so you can compare and check my plants with your own and jobs I am getting on with this week.
If you are looking for the sowing videos there are here
planted so far….
Here is a quick round up of what is ‘out’ ‘out’ in the garden already
For pruning and overwintering Eucalyptus plus much more visit my dedicated growing page
We get so many questions about weather, frost dates and our growing zones that Neil thought it was time to dig a little deeper into the Jet Stream, Gulf Stream and all the other factors that we have to consider when growing our plants.
Neil says there is much more that could be mentioned but hopes you find this useful when comparing your growing to ours. Love Zoe xxx
So much is going on in the Greenhouse. We have made room for the upcoming Spring Grow-A-Long by hardening off our Autumn Jump Started plants, with the exception of the Cynoglossom, Nigella, Sweet pea’s, and Snapdragons are a bit more tender.
If you don’t have a cold frames, or you can just put them in a sheltered spot just make sure they don’t get flooded by rain, not that we have had very much…
Because of how dry it has been I have given my Tulips a really good drowning. So far I have planted the Anemones, Butterfly Ranunculus and Rose Ranunculus undercover and in pots.
Containers can go outside during the day, after a week or so they can stay outside day and night providing we have no frost, in which case bring them in.
Frost will mark and damage the leaves particularly the Ranunculus foliage.
In the garden I have planted ‘out’ ‘out’ Cerinthe (have some fleece ready if it gets very cold), and the more hardy Poppies and Cornflowers in the ground.
Seeds We have started our Late Winter Sowings of Agrostemma, Malope, Poppies, Scabious, Annual Sweet peas (if you need them) and Snapdragons.
I have also sown a couple of tomatoes for an early crop.
I will sow more later. Tomatoes dislike cold below 5C so they need to stay in at night. Which brings us to the seeds I am sowing now, Applemint, Carnations, Clary Sage Eucalyptus, Phlox drumondii, Rudbeckia, all these seeds need a longer germination and growing period which is why I am starting them first.
Hold off on sowing Cosmos, Hollyhocks and Zinnia’s all are very light sensitive and started too early will cause plants to flower prematurely resulting in small plants and flowers.
I will leave mine at least another week.
Finally it’s much too early to start Dahlia’s, they are very tender and they are not house plants. You will also wear them out by starting them off too early and will be tired by September just when you need them the most. For detailed information on all of these plants visit the resources page on my website, every variety has it’s own dedicated page with videos.
Lots of love Zoe
19th February 2025
Snapdragons – Sowing now, pricking out, potting on and a chat on pinching and cuttings
Feeding and watering our Later Winter Started plants.
This is part of the live grow-a-long if you are growing in step with me.
Today I am checking on the Sweetpeas, Cerinthe, Agrostemma and Snapdragons, as well as Potting up Larkspur.
Finally we have a quick check on my Roselily bulbs I started on the 5th February (link below).
7th February 2026
We will soon start our late Winter sowings as the light gently returns so we need to make some space for the new seeds.
We are experiencing a temporary lift in the temperatures so now is the time to start hardening off some of our Autumn sown plants and gradually transition them ready for plating out in a few weeks.
Even the hardest plants can get cold shock so please don’t start hardening off in freezing conditions. By the time the cold weather returns these plants will be ready.
Remember plants have been sheltered inside since last year so we need to start off in a half way house, out of the rain but allowing the wind to go through the foliage and toughen them up.
Plants I am putting outside now the Biennials that actually need cold weather to flower well and other very hardy varieties that are big enough. Here is my list:
Canterbury Bells
Orlaya grandiflora
Sweet Rocket
Sweet William
Wild Carrot and any Cornflowers that are big enough.
Plants like Ammi are also tough enough if they are ready, I’m leaving mine inside just for now, they flower later are a bit smaller so will do better in the greenhouse for now, couple of weeks should do it!
Love Zoe xxx
Poppies – Papaver somniferum ‘Bowling Ball’ (Potting on)
ime to pot on our poppies, but don’t worry if you plants are not ready yet.
It is far better to wait until they have filled their 40 cell trays to minimise any root disturbance. These are fast growing so they will catch up in the next couple of weeks.
Larkspur update 7th December
We have sown our seeds, next we will pot up plants to give them enough room to carry on growing into huge plugs before planting out in the garden as early as late Winter depending on the Weather.
Any multiple sown seeds in a cell will need removing either by snipping out the spare or gently dividing. When potting on be careful not to tug plants you could loosen the plant from the soil and pull it clean away or even snap the stem.
I use a widger for any difficult plugs.
There is no rush to pot on if you plants are not ready it is best to wait until they are bigger and less fragile.
Greenhouse Update 27th November
A quick round up of the Autumn started seeds, including Ammi majus, Ammi visnaga, Larkspur, Nigella, Sweet Rocket (Hesperis matronalis), Cerinthe, Agrostemma, Poppies (Papaver somniferum), Wild Carrot (Daucus carota), Briza maxima (Greater Quaking Grass), and Cynoglossom (Chinese Forget-me-nots.
Anemones, Ranunculus and Butterfly Ranunculus.
If you have started your corms late, they may need to be brought in to the house at night to get them going.
Butterfly Ranunculus are tall corms, make sure the crown is covered with moist but not wet compost. If the crown is dry the corm won’t wake up.
All the roots and shoots come from the crown only.
The legs are just food storage to get the plant going. If only the bottom half of the pot is wet the legs will rot in cold wet soil while the corm stays dormant.
If this has happened to you, rather than just adding more water, change the compost.
Once the conditions are right the plants will be away! Lots of love Zoe
What to do if you drop your seed tray
It happens to us all, you have germinated your seedlings beautifully, you are so proud, then disaster happens and you drop the seed tray! Here is how to rescue them.
Potting on Nigella (if it’s ready, there is no hurry, it’s better to wait if it’s too soon for your plants).
Nigella has very delicate roots that will come away form the compost easily.
If you have a plant that comes out with no compost at all, just pop it in a tray of water for 20 minutes to completely rehydrate then pot up, that will stop it wilting.
There is no hurry to pot on your Nigella, it’s very chilly and plants will grow slowly, but if you would like a little job here is the video.
This week in the Greenhouse 17th November.
Potting on Sweet Rocket and the long version about overwatering. You can find the quick version below:
Between the soil particles there is both water and air.
Water as we know is essential for plant life, however Air is just as important.
Without air around the roots, plants cannot grow or be healthy if there is too little (the air in the soil is not exactly the same it has more carbon dioxide).
Depending on the time of year and the soil or compost type the amount of water to air balance will vary, BUT too far one way or the other will kill your plants.
Inconsistent watering or continually overwatering can compact the soil and/or cause a cap to form over the compost or soil.
The air for the roots is taken from the atmosphere, if the soil particles are stuck together the air cannot flow.
When this happens you should change the compost.
In the garden we add air by digging in organic matter to compacted and/or clay soils. There is more information on my Soil Science page.
Cold weather incoming!
More Cold weather updates are located in my Cold Weather Playlist on YOUTUBE and here on my website
https://www.youtube.com/@zoewoodwardgardening
Lots of the plants from the Autumn Jump Starter (Autumn Sowing) are very hardy so need no extra protection.
For those that are less hardy I have added a layer of horticultural fleece for extra protection. Horticultural fleece (frost cloth) is designed exactly for this purpose so you don’t have to worry about removing it in the morning.
It lets in light and is breathable. But do make sure you remove it before watering or it will soak up the moisture like a towel and become very heavy crushing plants.
There are lots more videos on cold weather protection below and on my YouTube channel if you need more specific information.
Greenhouse Updates Mid November
Ventilation and Drainage – Greenhouse Update (20 November)
Ventilation and Drainage If you can, lift your trays up on shelves.
This helps water move freely from the bottom of the trays preventing waterlogged soil and allows fresh air to get to the roots. Low light levels slows down plant growth.
As we head into winter don’t expect plants to do very much, they will take off again in late winter once light levels return to around 10 hours.
Transpiration is also slower due to the cooler temperatures and low light so watering will be a lot less. Only water plants when they need it or you will risk plants sitting in cold wet compost and this can lead to rotting. I won’t be sowing any more seeds until mid February.
You can easily fake conditions by adding warmth to fool seeds into germination but without enough natural daylight seedlings will struggle to grow and ‘damping off’ disease can occur.
Plants are much more resilient than seedlings. Our Autumn Jump Started seeds have made the transition from seedling to young plants.
Our job now is just to keep them ticking over ready for when the light returns.
Plants, depending on the variety will bloom naturally when the day length and temperatures are just right no matter how big the plants are (providing they have grown out of the juvenile stage).
Autumn starting gives them a chance to put on much more vegetative growth before this happens, giving us bigger, taller and more robust plants flowering in our gardens next year!
Potting on Clary Sage Coronation Mix (Salvia viridis)
Time to pot on our Clary Sage, but don’t worry if you plants are not ready yet.
It is far better to wait until they have filled their 40 cell trays to minimise any root disturbance. These are fast growing so they will catch up in the next couple of weeks.
Don’t pinch your Autumn started plants!
They need all the foliage they can get, the light levels will continue to drop until the Winter Solstice restricting the plants ability to photosynthesise.
So it makes sense not to unnecessarily remove leaves and pinch plants.
Many plants branch naturally including Autumn Started Sweetpeas so pinching plants will divert and dilute the growth making smaller stems.
Sweetpeas will continue to branch naturally over a long flowering season with each flush of flowers slightly shorter than the last. For this reason we don’t pinch our Sweetpeas.
Cut flower Snapdragons however don’t have this natural branching habit and are much slower to flower then re bloom so I pinch in late winter when the light levers return, just once to create multiple stems.
They will then basically get a second pinch when deadheading in summer for an another flush. Mini Butterfly snapdragons however have been bred to branch naturally so I won’t be pinching those at all.
Cerinthe major potting on (quick video)
I am potting on my Cerinthe major into 15 cell trays to give them a bit of extra room, its been a good start to the growing season and plants have done much better than this time last year.
Greenhouse Updates Early November
Q & A Time = Roots escaping from the bottom of your pots and Pinching plants too early
Roots escaping from the bottom of you pots, concerned you should be potting on?
Often it’s just a case of water pooling in the bottom tray.
Roots are pre-programmed to search out water, this doesn’t mean they need potting on and in some cases root disturbance this early can upset your seedlings.
Consistent watering will keep moisture in the compost and stop roots escaping in the search for moisture and knitting together underneath the cells.
These roots will then be damaged come potting on time as you try and separate them.
A free draining shelf will air prune escaping roots and encourage growth inside the cells or pots. Pinching plants too early while the light levels are so low will reduce photosynthesis and damage your plants.
They need all the leave surface they can get throughout winter. Pinching just like pruning will also encourage soft sappy growth which is more easily damage in cold conditions.
Pot plants on if needed. We will pinch suitable plants in late Winter or very early Spring once light levels return. At this point you can also take cuttings for free plants.
Updates from my greenhouse on the Cornflowers, Agrostemma, Snapdragons, Ammi majus. Ammi Visnaga, Anemones, Ranunculus, Butterfly Ranunculus, Briza Maxima, Sweetpeas, Larkspur, Orlaya Grandiflora and Wild Carrot.
Plus turning trays for even light distribution, damping off disease and over watering and tips on germination.
You can find all my eucalyptus videos here
As always if you want MORE daily snippets are available on my Instagram stories.
Scroll down for the Greenhouse updates or if you are looking for seed sowing you can find that page here:
Canterbury Bells (Campanula medium) Our fresh biennial Canterbury bells seeds produce tall stems with large, bell-shaped flowers in a custom blend of colours. Perfect for cutting, floral arrangements and dramatic garden display.
Note: Canterbury bells need short winter days to promote good vegetative growth. For best results; sow seeds in early autumn. Started too late will delay flowering until the following year. How to Grow:
Sow leaving uncovered—light aids germination (18–20°C).
Prick out any over sown seeds, they are seriously tiny and there are load s of seeds in your packets.
Start seeds in an unheated greenhouse in early autumn; avoid summer sowing, plants get much too large.
Plants grow well in part shade or full sun, blooming faster with more sunlight.
You can then pot around December into 15 cell trays or 9cm pots ready to harden off and move to the garden planting at least 22cm apart in late winter onwards.
Provide support as stems can be heavy with many flowering heads.
Canterbury Bells seeds are so tiny and take ages to germinate you may have added a few more for luck! Here is how to prick them out leaving 1 plant per cell to grow on strongly to flower this coming year!
Love Zoe
Handbooks provide and A-Z of all the details with shopping lists and checklists – free with minimum orders of our seeds, bulbs and plants.
https://zoewoodwardgardening.com/product-category/grow-a-long-handbooks/
Sign up here to find out when the next sale is and get special EARLY preview access.
https://mailchi.mp/0981b81dd95f/sign-up
Here we go live in the Greenhouse late October 2025!
Part Two of Sowing seeds in Quarter sized trays, it’s time now to Prick them out.
Greenhouse update (Nigella, Larkspur Hollyhocks) 26th October
If you are struggling with germination it could be the compost is being baked dry, try moving trays to a more sheltered spot in the greenhouse until seedlings have popped up.
This will keep the compost around the seeds moist.
Greenhouse Update Sweet pea, Cerinthe, Clary Sage & Poppy ‘Bowling Ball’ real time growing update.
Sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus), Cerinthe, Clary Sage (Salvia viridis) and Poppy Bowling Ball (Papaver somniferum ‘Bowling Ball’) real time growing update.
Question Time – Germination Issues, Sweet pea pots sizes and recycled containers
Greenhouse Update 14 October
It’s the first cold night of the Autumn and you might be worried about your seedlings.
Here is a quick update from my own greenhouse so you can compare your plants and see what I am doing to protect plants.
Lots of love Zoe xx
For seed sowing Grow-A-Long click the link below:
Hollyhock Update – Overwintering
These are our Special first year flowering hollyhocks (Alcea rosea annua) very different for the regular biennial types.
Technically a tender perennial, you can have a go at over wintering your plants. These Hollyhocks were only started in March and bloomed the same summer.
