About Us
Our Ethos
Plug Plants by Post is intended to be a reasonable supplier of mostly plug plants at a reasonable price. Clear and simple communication, low tech, small scale production and recycling are the most efficient and effective ways to do this. I started growing plants to sell as way of making an income out of something I enjoy, I’m not the most experienced gardener but enjoy learning, so that’s two pleasures from one root, and above all else gardening must be a pleasure or we’ve failed to grasp the root.
Grow and Care
We provide mature plug plants. This means you can usually plant these plugs straight in your garden if you wish. Because we value plant health over appearance they often arrive looking worse for wear, having leaves cut back to maintain plant health and roots bursting to get out of the plug trays, not to mention being stuck in packaging for up to a week. Fear not, the most important parts of TLC are patience and preparation. We patiently prepare the plants while you prepare the location and patience.
Hardiness Zones Explained
This site uses USDA hardiness zones which are the most commonly used. They range from 1 which is very cold (-50 to -60 °F -50 to -45°C+/-) to 13 which is almost tropical (60 to 70°F 15 to 20°C+/-) . The UK falls between zone 6 in the central mountains of Scotland (-23 to -18°C+/-) to zone 9 ( -7 to -1°C +/-) in coastal areas. Much of the rest of the Scottish Highlands likes in zone 7, with the rest of the UK mainly in zone 8.
For a fuller explanation, and an interactive map see Plant Maps. The RHS uses a simpler zonal system, which runs the opposite way, ranging from H1A (15 to 20°C) greenhouses to H7 (-25 to -20°C) for a fuller explanation of this please see https://www.gardensillustrated.com.
Soil and pH
A sandy loam is a common ideal soil, but any earth will do as a base and none are best – that’s a well rotted organic material, which you can add to any soil. Improving drainage in a clay soil is as simple as digging a 10″ (250mm) deep hole, putting some grit in the bottom and mixing plenty of compost in with the remaining soil. Best results are always achieved by working with the nature of the earth in your garden, while making small adjustments to suit planting tastes. Some ideas include planting drought tolerant plants (eryngium) in free draining chalky soil and water lovers (hosta, roses) in damp clay soils.