Spring Bedding Plant Production
Scheduling & Producing Combo
HB’s Plus Containers
Brett KarpSHS GRIFFIN
Material To Cover








Preparation
Action Plan
Growing Combo HB
Desiging Mixes
Building Container Combos
Record Keeping
Irrigation
Production costs
Preparation

Perform a water analysis

Service heaters and fans

Clean irrigation filters and test system

Sanitize benches and floors

Control weeds and insects under benches
Have an Action Plan!

What are you growing?

When is your projected sale date?

Who is your target audience?

What is your estimated production time?
Example Action Plan
Week 6:
 Receive rooted cuttings, inspect plants for insects and disease,
unpack and place on bench, set temperatures (65° at night and
72° during the day)
 Place yellow sticky cards for insect monitoring
 Plant five plugs per 12” basket, tag each variety in the pot,
water-in with 150 ppm 21-5-20 fertilizer
Example Action Plan

Week 7- Pinch within first week

Week 8- Drench with a fungicide 10-12 days after planting and
Florel at 500ppm if plant requires it

Week 10- Slow Release Fert. (15-9-12), Systemic Insecticide

Week 11- Trim around edges of pot if necessary, attach
hangers, and hang baskets

Week 18- Ready for shipping
Why Grow Combo Baskets?

Utilize space above benches and walkways

Extend sales into the summer months

Allows smaller growers to create a niche for themselves

Provide homeowners with easy and instant color

Perfect for customers with limited space
Designing Mixes
Must look good and perform well together

Growth Habit- tall/mounded plants in the middle and shorter/trailing plants
around edges

Color- contrasting or seasonal colors- pastels for Mother’s Day and red,
white and blue for July 4th

Foliage- adds texture to the mix. Accent/variegated foliage provides
additional interest

Vigor- avoid species that will take over the pot or others that won’t fill it in

Cultural Requirements- light, pH, temperature, growth regulators
How many Plants Per Pot?

You should not be able to see any soil in the finished pot

Plants should be growing over the rim of the pot

Some factors affecting the number of plants include:






Size of the pot
Cost of the plugs
Bench space available
Desired ship date
Plant vigor and branching habit
Direct Stick or Plant and Transplant
Monochromatic Hanging Baskets
Colorful Combo Hanging
Baskets
!
Building
Container Combinations
The Thriller (or Pillar)



Start with the Thriller
Usually 1 plant will do
Can be larger plant
–
1.0 Gallon
Does not have to be the
most flashy plant in combination
 Try:

–
–
–
–
Coleus
Grasses
Angelonia
Cordyline
The Filler
A mounding plant
 Will fill in the middle of
the planting
 Try

–
–
–
–
Superbells Calibrachoa
Intensia Phlox
Oxalis
Soprano or Symphony Osteospermum
The Spiller



A trailing variety
Can be trimmed up in the summer to be sure the
plant is not hiding all of the pot
Try
–
–
–
Snowstorm Bacopa
Supertunia Petunia-Spreading
Ivy
Another Option
You do not always have to have a thriller, filler and
spiller.
 Many people prefer a
rounded ball of colors
 Keep your shape
preference in mind when you
choose your plants

Tips
Plant Shade varieties together
and Sun varieties together.
 If a plant can tolerate both, use it
anywhere you would like.

Sun Combo
Tips


Turning containers on a
schedule will allow them to
get even sun exposure
Feed every time you water
the plants
–

Containers (hanging baskets and
patio pots) l
Use Time Release plant food,
when you plant
–
You can mix it into the soil, like
tossing a salad, to get even
nutrients throughout your planter
Record Keeping

Take notes or pictures of successful and
unsuccessful mixes

Use pot tags for a quick reference of the plants used
in a particular mix

Order next year’s plugs while the different mixes are
still fresh in your mind
Spacing

Space baskets approximately 18” apart to…

Compensate for the weight of the saturated
containers on the support structures

Avoid a canopy that is too dense
 Increasing light intensity
 Promoting airflow and reducing disease
occurrence
Irrigation Systems

Drip irrigation is the most common type of system



Low-volume drip emitters allow water to slowly saturate the soil
Pressure-compensated emitters help to increase crop uniformity
Automated irrigation systems are used in larger operations
 Pros-N-Cons:
 Make hanging baskets and pulling orders easier
 Take longer to water and require precise adjustment and placement of
nozzles
 Less likely to leach through and drip on the crops below
 More moving parts means more maintenance
Production Costs

Plugs- $0.44 to $0.48 is average. Add $0.10 for freight costs.
Add $0.06 to $0.11 for royalty and marketing fees.

Pots and hangers- a 12” plastic pot is about $1 and an 18”
moss wire basket can be up to $12.50

Soil- $0.35 per 10 -12” plastic basket and $0.65 per 18” moss
wire basket

Chemicals- fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, and growth
regulators
Pricing
Mark-up 2.5 times for wholesale and 4 times for retail sales







Post-production shipping
Labor
Water Source
Heating
Maintenance
Insurance
Mortgage
Pricing

10” plastic hanging basket (4ppp)


12” plastic hanging basket (5ppp)


$9.50 wholesale/ $23.99 retail
$16.00 wholesale/ $39.99 retail
18” moss wire basket (9ppp)

$40.00 wholesale/ $100.00 retail
Shipping

Order pulling

Barcodes and logos

Carts

Trucks
Shipping
The End