Gardeners have been urged not to make a common mistake that could ‘destroy’ their plants. The alert was shared by an enthusiast named Bridget Rose, who is the founder of The Cut Flower Club, which is described as a sowing and growing cut flower community.
Posting on @The.cut.flower.club TikTok page, Bridget shared a warning for anyone planting seedlings this year. She wrote: “You’re about to destroy all your seedlings. Most people sow their seeds, get a tray full of seedlings, and then just… leave them.
“They compete for light, water, and space – and this is the perfect way to make weak flowers that don’t last. All you need to do is pot them on, which gives them a lovely nutrition boost. It’s a twenty-minute job that is relaxing when you get into it!”
Explaining her method in the video post, Bridget told viewers: “A lot of people leave their seedlings in trays like this, all cramped, but they’re not going to get strong if they’re competing on light, water and space. So pot them on into individual pots or trays like this.”
She instructed: “Get nice fresh compost. Then I mix in a couple of handfuls of perlite, which is brilliant for drainage. Roots don’t like soggy bottoms, so give it a good mix, add some water and get it into a really nice consistency.
“Now, what you’re doing when you’re potting on is giving the plant a whole boost of nutrition. You’ll notice they have a massive growth spurt after this. Now, I’m using a tea strainer here, but you can use anything to get the seedlings out.”
Bridget continued: “Don’t be too precious, they should be fine. Hold them by the leaves as you’re popping them in. Get those roots tucked in, and then just gently firm around the top, being careful not to push all the air out of the soil.
“We need that for our roots. I can’t stress enough, the twenty minutes you spend doing this will be the difference between a tray of weak or dead seedlings or ones you can actually plant in the ground.”
The video proved popular with viewers, gaining over 12k views and lots of praise from commenters. One fan replied: “The tea bag strainer is genius.”
Someone else praised: “I love how organised your little pots are!!” A pleased viewer said: “Thank goodness for the algorithm!!” and another fan wrote: “This is TikTok premium.”
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