New Seedlings & Bloomers
Large-sized seedling punnets are now available at your local nursery. You’ll pay more per plant than buying a standard punnet (which normally sell for around $3.50-$4.50 and have six, eight or more plants), but a lot less than the cost of buying bloomers, plants in 100mm pots. Most of the bigger sized punnets are sold in flower so they will have an instant effect. The larger plants are also much easier to handle and plant than smaller annuals.
Instant Oasis
Features: good range of seedlings including marigolds, petunias, pansies and impatiens available in the new large size. Each punnet has 10 plants, many already in flower. A handy carry handle makes picking up and carrying the punnet easy and clean.
Expect to pay: around $16-$18 each, which works out at $1.60-$1.80 per plant.
Available: NSW, Victoria, Queensland and possibly in other states too from Oasis Nurseries in Victoria and NSW.
My Favourite
Features: the My Favourite seedling range has been designed for easy planting and instant effect, and includes impatiens, pansies, verbena and dianthus. The turquoise and white punnets come with handles to make them easy to pick up and carry. The white container slips out so the plants come out easily with little chance of damaging the root system.
Expect to pay: around $17-$20 for a punnet of 15 seedlings, which works out at $1.10-$1.30 per plant.
Available: Australia-wide. Although plants across Australia will look similar, every effort has been made to ensure that local growers use varieties that best suit the climate in different parts of Australia. Contact Anthony Tesselaar Plants on (03) 9737 9568 for availability in each state.
Floriana So Beautiful range
Features: a punnet of four advanced seedlings which includes the latest releases such as the pink lisianthus ‘Allure’, but all the widely grown annuals such as pansies, petunias, impatiens, torenia are also available. The plants are general single colour varieties or shades (such as the pansy ‘Amethyst Shades’). The seedlings are easy to remove from their punnets and are in flower when you buy so you can see what you are buying.
Expect to pay: $5.50-$6.50 for a punnet of four plants which works out at $1.40-$1.60 per plant.
Available: Victoria, NSW, SA, Tasmania and ACT with limited availability in Queensland and WA. Contact Floriana (03) 9798 9155.
Funky Flower Packs
Features: cashing in on the ’70s retro look, a group of seedling growers are marketing their larger-sized punnets for groovy gardeners. These large square punnets contain 10 advanced plants that sound good enough to eat: snapdragon Berry Delight, petunia Devonshire Tea and dianthus Parfait.
Expect to pay: around $16-$18 each, which works out at $1.60-$1.80 per plant.
Available: Victoria grown by Scotsburn Nurseries (phone: (03) 9798 7066); SA grown by Salisbury Nursery (phone: (08) 8258 1530); and WA grown by Riverton Nurseries (phone: (08) 9457 0155).