Innholdsfortegnelse for 21-Oct-2017 i Amateur Gardening

TopTip Take care not to accidentally overwinter tender plants in frost pockets in the garden. These are low-lying or enclosed areas where cold air is trapped, leading to small areas of freezing. WE aren’t the only beings needing extra layers of warmth as winter closes in. Many of our garden plants do too, in particular those that are tender and not used to a drop in winter temperature. The first frosts may be imminent – or have already occurred – further north, but here in the relatively sheltered south I am starting to protect and prepare vulnerable plants for the worsening weather. Although cold is the main killer, heavy rain, snow and hail are damaging, and high winds will cause a lot of destruction if you’re unprepared. The main weapons…

Use off-cuts as cuttings. Trim away large leaves, dip the cut ends in rooting powder and insert into pots of damp cuttings compost. 1 After weeding the area, lift the plant keeping as much soil around the roots as possible, to protect them. 2 Place it in a container large enough to take all the roots. Fill the pot with seed and cuttings compost. 3Cut back the foliage to around 4in (10cm) from the base of the plant. Save the healthiest off-cuts for cuttings. 4 Water the plant thoroughly. You should not need to water it again for several months.…

Stand the pot on feet and water the tree well so the compost settles and is saturated. Don’t let it dry out while the tree gets established 1 Make sure the roots stay damp and are placed in water before planting. Trees will struggle if roots dry out. 2 Place crocks and some John Innes No3 in the pot. Spread the roots so the tree is well balanced. 3 Hold the tree upright and plant it so that its knobbly graft, or ‘root collar’, is clear of the soil. 4 Support the tree with a stake and tie. The stake should be on the side of the prevailing wind.…

TopTip It is important to store your tubers and corms somewhere dry and well-ventilated, as warmth and humidity will accelerate their chances of being attacked by fungal disease and moulds. MY gladioli have been glorious this year, bringing statuesque colour to the borders and containers. They are going over now and are looking tatty, so it is time to lift them and overwinter their corms in the shed. They are not alone in needing extra protection through the colder months. The corms of tuberous begonias also need lifting and storing in trays of slightly dampened sand, or compost such as John Innes No1 or seed and cuttings compost. The general rule of thumb with tender corms, tubers and bulbs is to keep as much soil around them as possible while…

IF you noticed lots of little holes in your fruit tree leaves during summer then this project is for you. They may have been caused by one of the moths we collectively call ‘winter moths’ because these species lay their eggs during the chillier months. Severe attacks can weaken trees and affect yield, but there’s one simple task now that will literally stop the moths in their tracks. Because the female moths are wingless, they cannot fly and instead crawl to their destination. Placing a sticky band of grease around vulnerable tree trunks will entrap the females, so that they cannot lay their eggs in the canopy of your tree. The females emerge to lay eggs between November and April, so it’s an important task of this weekend. Check fruit…

ALL good gardeners start to plan for a colourful spring now. As there is so much choice at nurseries and garden centres I decided to set myself a colour theme before I made my selection. For my larger pots, I’ve gone for an orange with Tulipa ‘Brown Sugar’ at the heart of the displays. Then the smaller pots will be for blues with Muscari ‘Valerie Finnis’ and some blue hyacinths. To ensure a display of spring bulbs that goes on and on for over a month I am planting more than one layer of bulbs in each pot. This is often referred to as a lasagne planting (three layers is the maximum I have ever tried). So in my smaller blue themed pots, I’ve planted hyacinths in the bottom layer…

1 Break up the garlic bulb and only use cloves that are firm and healthy. Discard the rest. 2 If growing in a pot, use one at least 8in (20cm) wide and deep for good root development. Place the cloves 4in (10cm) apart, 1in (2.5cm) deep. 3 Alternatively, plant cloves in sunny, fertile soil enriched with organic matter. Plant 4in (10cm) apart in rows 12in (30cm) apart. 4 If you live somewhere cold or your soil is heavy, start garlic in module trays. Plant 1in (2.5cm) deep and cover with compost. Keep in a cold frame over winter and plant out the sprouted cloves in spring.…

Pansies Reliable, long-flowering bedding plants that will fill your pots with colour for months on end. Pansies come in an array of bright, vibrant shades – choose from purples, reds, yellows or whites. Wallflowers Many wallflowers are spring-flowering, but there are some bedding plants that bloom through the autumn, adding height and colour. Try ‘Sugar Rush’, which comes in cream, yellow, purple and red (above). Violas The smaller relative of the pansy, violas are lower growing and have more dainty flowers. There are also some trailing varieties, which are excellent planting partners for upright shrubs. Primroses Some modern primrose varieties flower through the winter and give a welcome boost to pots well before spring. There are loads of colour options, including the cheery pink of ‘Woodland Walk’ (above).…

How do I tame my overgrown lavatera and buddleja? Q I HAVE too many overgrown shrubs in my garden, especially lavatera and buddleja. Can I prune them now so they don’t topple in winter? How should I prune them and how much can I cut off? Mrs Beryl Cravat, Southsea, Hants A Keen gardeners wanting to enjoy as many different plants as possible often pack in too many and end up with a towering mass of shrubs. In the long term, you could rework some of the beds and borders by either grubbing everything out and starting from scratch, or saving key trees and large shrubs at wider spacings and removing the rest. The skill lies in balancing your plants into different storeys, so long-lived trees tower above well-placed shrubs,…

MANY lawns take a lot of punishment during the summer, helping to compact the rootzone and so restrict air and rainfall infiltration. You can tell if your lawn is suffering compaction; it feels hard and water is slow to drain away. Eventually the grass loses its rich green colour, the cover thins and moss and weeds set in. With roots needing oxygen it’s time to aerate. The size of lawn and severity of compaction will determine the best equipment or tool for the job. Where the compaction is at the surface, a bladed or linear aerator such as the Cobra electric model or the Garland hand tool may suffice. A more rigorous relief can be achieved by a spiker such as the De Wilt Broadfork or Draper Tools roller aerator.…

Write to: Wendy Humphries, Amateur Gardening, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF or email: amateurgardening@timeinc.com Star letter AFTER reading Tony Buckland’s article (AG, 23 Sept), I thought I would bring it to the attention of other readers that the condition CPBB (compulsive plant-buying bingitis) is contagious! In the past, my husband has tried to administer a cure…. by threatening with the old: “we will need to re-mortgage at this rate,” and “you can’t possibly shoe-horn another plant into the garden” medication, but years of visiting flower shows and garden centres has led to him succumbing to CPBB himself. In fact, we’re now in danger of a worse senario of him becoming sicker than me with frenzied plant buying. His tonic? He gets to read MY copy of AG…

YOU don’t need to be a scholar of medieval history to know that ‘In days of old when knights were bold, the toilet lights were dim’, or be familiar with eye witness accounts to grasp that catastrophe lurked in every poorly lit loo: ‘You’d hear a crash and then a splash ‘Oh gosh he’s fallen in’!” The food though was worse than the toilets. ‘Potage’, a gruel made by bunging all and every ingredient into a cauldron and bubbling it by the fire for days/weeks was the staple. It had about as much flavour as a dish cloth – and more germs. “Fermented veg killed the germs” Our canny ancestors had a trick to help them stomach this home-made slop and keep food poisoning at bay. Bitter salads of red…

1 If you haven’t done so already, stand the pot on feet so excess rainwater can escape. This reduces the risk of water freezing around the roots and cracking the pot. 2 Cut off the foliage, which will probably be starting to look battered. Leave the trunk as it will survive when it is wrapped. 3 Protect the roots with a layer of mulch. Well-rotted compost or manure are ideal. 4 Wrap the container in fleece and/or bubble wrap and stand it somewhere sheltered. Check that pests aren’t hiding in it.…

TopTip Deciduous agapanthus are hardy down to -15°C (5°F) and though you may lose some plants during very hard winters, they should bounce back the following year. AFRICAN lilies – more commonly known as Agapanthus – are one of my favourite summer flowers. I love their glossy, strap-like leaves and upright stems crowned with clusters of trumpets in myriad shades of blue and also white. They perform best with their roots tightly constrained in pots, or in freedraining border soil, and their South African heritage means they can struggle with our cold, wet winters. Before the weather really turns for the worst, make sure yours are well enough protected to see winter through. Agapanthus can be evergreen or deciduous, and the ones that lose their leaves are more reliably hardy…

TopTip Don’t forget to keep watch for pests as they will make the most of the safe, warm atmosphere indoors. Glasshouse red spider mites and mealybugs can be a particular problem. YOUR garden plants aren’t the only ones to enter a period of dormancy in winter – houseplants do much the same. As light levels fall and the days shorten, indoor greenery slows down too. It stops putting on growth and, with the exception of ‘gift’ plants such as moth orchids, African violets and streptocarpus, flowering falls off too. However, this doesn’t mean you can simply forget about plants indoors. The care they need may be minimum, but it is important to keep it going. Instead of watering little and often, give them a good drink then wait until the…

NO matter whether or not you already have a compost heap or bin, now is a good time to start another. You see, there’s still lots of nutritious material to be had from the garden – but leave it another couple of weeks and the frosts and winter winds will reduce it all to withered sticks with much less value. “Wet stuff needs balancing with dry stuff” So collect up every morsel you can glean. Every leaf, stem and twig, not only the fallen but the fresh prunings as well. As long as twigs and prunings are not too thick, cut them into short lengths and they’ll compost – even quite woody ones as these are still full of sap and sugars. Actually I reckon we could all add more…

1You can buy proprietary grease band products from good garden centres. If your tree’s trunk bears gnarly rough bark then it’s best to apply the grease directly to the trunk. Do this around 60cm above soil level, using an old paintbrush or spatula. 2 Alternatively, if your tree’s bark is nice and smooth (often with young trees) then you can buy a grease-coated plastic strip that wraps around the bark. This can simply be removed in late spring, once all risk of female winter moth emergence has passed. 3 It’s important to keep the greased area free from rubbish and to maintain its stickiness, so that it can continually do its job of catching female moths. You may well see them as they become ensnared in the grease – although…

Should we prune our mountain ash? Q We need to prune our mountain ash, but are worried that if we do, it will bush out and lose its slender shape. What should we do? Ron Drew, Watford, Herts. A I think it is probably the variety ‘Joseph Rock’ which is described as a ‘small tree’. Its ultimate height is around 25ft (8m) and it tends to have the lovely compact and upright head of branches that you can see in your tree. I have a mountain ash that I prune every few years. I effectively pollard it (cut each of the branches back to within an inch or two of its point of origin). The new growth retains the tendency to grow upwards as straight stems, which can only be…

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I ENJOYED your feature about floribunda roses (AG, 23 Sept). I must say that it’s the hybrid tea roses that have always been my favourites because of their larger flower heads and scent. This rose is still blooming in September. It’s a climbing rose and was already in my garden when I came here 6 years ago. Can any readers help me identify it please? I try to keep it healthy with regular feeding and watering because the flowers are so lovely and I like seeing them each summer.…

1 Cloches are mini-greenhouses that raise the temperature around plants. Plastic ones need weighing down or they will take off in high winds. 2 A 3in (7cm) layer of organic mulch piled around vulnerable plants helps protect their roots and keep weeds at bay. 3 Container plants can die if winter weather causes waterlogging and freezing. Insulate their pots with a layer of bubblewrap before planting. 4 Fleece will trap and warm the air around plants while letting in some light. It also offers protection against wind, rain and light hail. Problems worth watching out for ■ Although the pros far outweigh the cons when it comes to protecting plants, there are a few things to watch out for. ■ Creating a warm, still environment around plants can raise humidity…

ALL of us working in the worlds of gardening and horticulture get the opportunity to see what is coming for 2018 at two big trade events each autumn. I find it difficult to keep up; one company alone putting 700 new plants on trial this year. Breeders are constantly looking to develop plants that have much longer flowering seasons and will suit the current trend for container growing. An excellent example is Hesperozgis ‘Midnight Mojito’, a super mint from Brazil, which has lavender to purple flowers from March to October. This small mounded shrub, growing 12-18in in height and spread, has a pleasant menthol fragrance when the leaves are crushed and will be on sale at garden centres next spring. It is best in a free draining, sunny position and…

1 An Indian summer is looking unlikely now, so put away your garden furniture having given it an oiling, waxing or wipe down first. 2 Get your soft fruit, shrubs, herbaceous plants, trees and bulbs planted out soon before the soil loses all its warmth. 3 Place piles of sharp sand over crowns of dying down asparagus and other herbaceous plants, marking positions and deterring slugs. 4 Position evergreen twigs, dried fern or bracken among the crowns of tender plants left outdoors to help these survive cold.…

THE Best Beloved and I have been at Spring Cottage for almost 12 years now, but it was very run down when we moved in. The only things in the garden were six oak line posts, one clump of alchemilla and a cottage garden peony. The old shed was full of out of date chemicals, including DDT, which was officially banned in 1986. It won’t surprise you to learn that there was very little insect life here either, apart from leather jackets in the overgrown lawn. In contrast, my old flower-stuffed garden had been full of life, especially at ground level, and if I put a handful of weeds down on the path (and picked them up the next day) a beetle or two always scuttled away. I actively encouraged…

TopTip Like all alliums, garlic, onions and shallots have slim, straplike leaves. They throw virtually no shade, which will encourage unwanted plants, so keep their growing areas free of weeds. FOR the past two years I have had a lot of success growing onions and shallots in our raised beds. The crops have been free from rots and rusts and their care has been rewarded with large firm bulbs that have proved extremely delicious and caused much weeping and many red eyes in the kitchen I grew them from sets, rather than starting from seed. Sets are small onions that are planted in autumn. They are an ideal way of growing onions in colder areas and can be more resistant to disease. They are also less vulnerable to insect pests,…

Mushroom compost Left over from mushroom farming, this compost tends to contain chalk and have a high pH. Use to raise the pH of acid soils; apply in autumn, to allow the minerals it contains to dissipate before new growth in spring. Great for growing brassicas such as kohlrabi (above). Garden compost In general, a good all-round mulch for all soil types, but the pH will vary depending on what you put in it. Wood ash, for instance, is alkaline - so add sparingly and mix well into the compost. Leaf mould Crumbly, decomposing pine needles are perfect for acid-loving plants such as blueberries (above), while leaf mould made from other leaves tends to be pH neutral and is a great soil conditioner for all other plants. Leaves take longer…