How to grow half-hardy annual bedding plants from seed for summer?

Unit pots of well-grown seedlings - given plenty of space to provide good stocky plants.

Half hardy annuals for summer bedding are normally sown into seed boxes – or sometimes pots – between January and March. Seeds of half hardy annuals are sown in seed compost, although multi-purpose is ok for larger seeds. They will need to be kept warm to germinate them, and also to grow them on into healthy seedlings and then plants ready for the garden.

Once the seeds have germinated (sprouted) and are large enough to handle they can be ‘pricked out’ (transplanted) into pots or boxes with potting or multi-purpose compost and kept growing until – with slightly less heat – until planting out time in May. They will need to be hardened off before planting out into garden or containers.

There is a wide range of seeds available, and they will require different growing conditions and temperatures. Read the seed packet for best results, and refer to our own seed sowing guide.