MSoG Plant Sales

25/07/2026

18/04/2026

When the sun appears in spring you might be tempted to plant out tender plants, but beware of late frost and cool nights! Follow these steps to work out the safest planting time in your garden:

🌱 Frost can damage or kill your tender and half-hardy plants so you should plant them out after frost risk has passed and once the nights are reliably mild, at least above 7 °C.

🌱 Before planting outdoors, you'll need to acclimatise plants that have been raised indoors or in a heated greenhouse to harden them off. Over the course of 2-3 weeks, place them in a sheltered, dappled sunny spot, gradually increasing time outdoors in the daytime, but still bringing them in at night. This is essential for tender summer plants such as dahlias in pots, coleus, salvias, tomatoes, basil, peppers and French beans.

🌱 After hardening off, plant them out when the nights are consistently above 7 °C. Some common heat-loving edibles, including tomatoes, peppers, basil and cucurbits, do better if nights are above 10 °C.

🌱 If an unexpected chill is forecast, cover your plants with reused or biodegradable fleece. Use a double layer on the coldest nights.

Find out more on when to plant out tender plants:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/garden-jobs/when-to-plant-out-tender-plants-avoiding-late-frosts

02/04/2026

The Hollow Stem Heroes: Britain’s Spring Airforce
Hang a bundle of hollow reeds in your apple tree this March, and within days, a silent, highly efficient airforce will move in.

We often assume "bug hotels" are just trendy garden ornaments, or that any wasp buzzing near them is an aggressive nuisance. In reality, these hollow tubes (3–10mm wide) are vital, desperately needed real estate for harmless, non-stinging solitary species.

Waking from winter dormancy right now, native Red Mason Bees (Osmia bicornis) are actively seeking these exact cavities to lay their eggs, carefully sealing the chambers with mud. Sharing this real estate are tiny, solitary Aphid-hunting Wasps (such as Passaloecus species). As March warms, these microscopic hunters patrol your emerging spring canopy. They paralyze hundreds of garden aphids, stuffing them into the hollow stems as a living larder for their larvae before sealing the entrance.

This multi-species system provides a dual ecological service: massive early-season pollination alongside relentless, zero-chemical pest control directly at the source.

Ecological Action: Tie a tight bundle of hollow bamboo or reed stems together. Hang them firmly in a sunny, sheltered spot facing south or south-east to warm them in the morning sun.

A simple bundle of sticks isn't just a craft project; it is a frontline defence for your spring garden.