Transplanting Flowers

It's springtime! At our home that usually means it's time to start planting some seeds in the garden.  There is some truth behind the old saying, "April Showers Bring May Flowers."  So this weekend we paid a visit to our local nursery in order to complete part of requirement 2b in the Gardening Merit Badge, which asks us to grow three flowers from seedlings and three flowers from seeds.

There is a ton of different flowers you can choose from at the nursery! The spot in our garden that we were looking at receives very little direct sunlight. With that in mind, we needed to choose some plants that would do well in the shade. We came to the conclusion of a few Begonias and a large flat of Impatiens. Both of these plants do very well in part sun areas.  When all else fails, ask an employee at the nursery which plants will do well in the area within your yard.

When transplanting I use a method that I learned from my mother back when I was a Cub Scout. 

• The plant's soil needs to be moist at all times when in the temporary pot, but not so wet that you are working with mud.  This will only cause you to have a hard time transplanting and tearing the plants, roots and all, out of the soil.  
• You first want to dig the hole within the garden for the transplant
• Lightly pinch the plant at the soil base and gently remove the entire plant with the roots and soil
• Gently break the root cluster to promote growth
• Place in the ground an d cover everything up
• Lightly water, not drown, the plant as you have put a slight amount of stress on it.  
• Keep the garden regularly watered and enjoy your flowers.