Hi Chasmunro and welcome to GoY. Where are you in the UK it makes a difference as to when bedding plants are available, or, at least, it should!

Down south, you could probably buy them now; garden centres are gearing up for their biggest weekend of the year, Easter, when people go there and buy all their summer bedding and often go home and plant it out. But their availability doesn't mean you can plant them out now. They can't be planted or placed outdoors until all risk of frost is past, which is end of May (though in a good year, mid May in the south).

And into June up here in Moray, though there is always a risk of frost even in the middle of summer!

Up here some places have been selling them since mid march, obviously wanting people to plant them out, and then go and buy a second lot after the first lot get killed by frost, if you haven't got a greenhouse with a heater that will keep it frost free, then don't buythem until you've had the last frost where you are, Derek.

Lol you'd never buy up here then Derek :)

??? Didn't realize it wasthat cold Mg, Derek.

It isn't Derek but we can have a frost a night of the year. Whe new lived in Aberdeenshire back in the mid 70s there was a June day we woke up to so much snow Bulba couldn't get the car down the farm track to head over to Aberdeen Uni. All gone by lunchtime :)

it snowed on june first 1976 and then the summer was one of the hottest and driest on record. I was revising for yr 12 exams at the time.

back to the question small plug plants of these have been on sale for about 2 weeks now. but at least the gc is putting notices up saying they need growing on frost free and need planting out mid/late may. that makes a change.

Welcome to GoY from me too :o)

Hi Chasmunro,

I agree with the above, but, can I also say that a lot of mail order companies are now sending out plug plants for bedding which if you have somewhere to keep them will work out a lot cheaper than buying ready grown plants from garden centres, also they won't take up as much room.