Innholdsfortegnelse for 12-May-2018 i Amateur Gardening

FOR me – and I suspect many other gardeners – one of the joys of foreign travel is seeing what plants flourish abroad. From the angular Strelitzia reginae (bird of paradise plants) of South Africa that are used in Mediterranean gardens, to tough little alpines from mountainous Europe, there is always something to add a touch of ‘otherness’ to your break. Best of all, these memories can often be recreated back home, as many foreign plants will grow well here. Thanks to the internet, they are more widely available from suppliers with a wealth of knowledge to help you grow with confidence. Some plants survive outside all year, either on their own or protected by mulch and wrapping. Others, such as cannas and lemons, need overwintering in a greenhouse, cool…

To guarantee the best possible display of blooms next year, carry out these simple tasks. After blooming and before the leaves die back, feed daffodils with a high-potassium liquid tomato feed every fortnight. This is especially important for container plants. If conditions are dry after flowering, water regularly. Never tie knots in the leaves. Let them yellow and die back at their own pace (around six weeks) to return energy to the bulbs.…

• Warmer weather brings out the pests, and the shelter and ample supply of tender shoots on offer in your greenhouse makes it a tempting proposition. • Sticky flypapers are a great way of catching winged pests. They are non-selective, but give you a good idea what’s about so you can directly target different species. • Snails will hide away in dense foliage, so look carefully and pick them off. • If you are growing tomatoes and other veggies undercover, order some Encarsia formosa online or from a garden centre. These tiny microscopic wasps predate whitefly and are a greenhouse essential.…

COMFREY is a plant of many parts and should not be discounted lightly. A robust lover of wild areas and damp soil, it is an excellent addition to the bee-lover’s garden and has many beneficial horticultural uses. However, buyer (or grower) beware – this plant can be extremely invasive and one parent will throw out a massive root system from which many more little offshoots will spring. The roots are extremely hard to kill so, where possible, grow comfrey in its own area to prevent it taking over an entire patch of your garden! Some comfrey seeds had obviously made their way into our homemade compost (or blown in from wild plants growing over the road) and were busy colonising a front garden border. I did what I could to…

12: St Michael’s Plant Sale and Garden Festival, 11am-5pm, St Michael’s Church, Pirbright, Surrey GU24 0JJ.pirbrightchurch.org.uk 12: Plant Hunters’ Fair: National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, Staffs DE13 7AR. thenma.org.uk 12: National Alpine Show: RHS Wisley, Wisley Lane, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB. 0203 176 5830, rhs.org.uk 12: The Art of Plant Manipulation and Training: Godinton House, Godinton Lane, Ashford, Kent TN23 3BP. 01233 643854; godintonhouse.co.uk 12-13: Heritage Plant Fair: RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Rosemoor, Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH. 0203 176 5830; rhs.org.uk/gardens 12-13: Bonsai Weekend (North Devon Bonsai Association) RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Rosemoor, Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH. 0203 176 5830; rhs.org.uk/gardens 13: Minterne Spring Fair: Minterne House, Minterne Magna, Dorchester, Dorset DT2 7AU. 01300 341370, minterne.co.uk 13: Little Ouseburn Open Gardens, Ouseburn, York, North Yorks. 01423 339622, email: loopengardens@yahoo.com…

“Some hardy geraniums set seeds and generally I avoid them” THE garden never feels as good as it does on a warm May morning when the birds are singing, the sun is pleasingly warm and the garden is full of promise. One famous gardener, E.A. Bowles of Myddelton House in Enfield, Greater London, felt just the same way. He wrote that: “If a fairy godmother or talking fish offered me three wishes, one would have to be to have the clock stopped on a fine morning towards the end of May.” Bowles’s wish was almost granted, as he died on 7 May 1954, aged 89 years. Although there’s plenty of fabulous foliage, flowers can be few and far between because the early rush of spring bulbs and woodlanders is largely…

1 Ideally, choose an overcast, still day to begin hardening off young plants or, failing that, identify a shady, sheltered spot. For the next 4-5 days move your seedlings outside during the day and bring them back under cover at night to begin toughening them up. 2 The next stage is to leave your plants outside permanently for a few more days. If they’ve been in a shady area, gradually move them somewhere sunnier. By this time the leaves’ waxy cuticle will have thickened up – it’s the equivalent of us getting a base tan! 3 Finally, your youngsters are ready for planting out into their permanent positions. Water them well beforehand, and the ground. Then give them a light water in after planting and they’ll romp away merrily. By…

Q Although I have a garden with a small greenhouse and a decent-sized allotment, we have been in a ‘hungry gap’ since last autumn. How can I avoid this and bring crops on for winter and spring? Alan Benedict, Gosport, Hampshire A VEGETABLE growers can fall victim to enthusiastic spring sowings of broad beans, peas, French beans, onions, salads, carrots and beetroot, summer cabbage, courgettes and sweetcorn, but run out of steam so that supplies dry up come September. Yet with good planning, there is every prospect of better self-sufficiency and plugging the hungry gap. Celeriac is best sown in March for an autumn-to-spring supply of roots to flavour soups and casseroles, as well as eating grated and raw. Hunt around now for fresh young plants to set at decent…

■ 8 May 1926 English broadcaster and naturalist, Sir David Attenborough, was born in Isleworth, Middlesex. He has done more than anyone to bring the natural world into our homes. ■ 9 May 1826 Joseph Paxton started work for the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth, where he built the famous Great Conservatory. ■ 10 May 1566 Leonhard Fuchs, German physician and botanist, who lent his name to the fuchsia, died. ■ 10 May 1964 Controversial Irish garden designer and television personality, Diarmuid Gavin, was born. ■ 11 May 1949 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth made an official visit to the RHS Gardens at Wisley in Surrey. ■ 14 May 1700 Mary Delaney, English writer and paper flower artist, was born in Coulston, Wiltshire.…

• A greenhouse, well-lit porch or conservatory is perfect for overwintering exotics that go back outside in summer. • After lifting my cannas last autumn I stowed them in a tray of sandy compost in the greenhouse and potted them up once they started to shoot again this spring. • This took place slightly later than usual, which I put down to the long cold winter and late arrival of spring. • Olive and lemon trees can go back on to a sunny, sheltered patio once the risk of frosts has passed. • Acclimatise them slowly to the outside conditions and keep them fed and watered.…

In this country the most reliable way of growing exotic plants is somewhere suitable indoors. Orchids, cacti, succulents and the many foliage plants of every shape and size that are widely available should thrive in a warm household. They do have certain requirements though, and you need to meet these to get the best from your plants. Central heating dries out the atmosphere, so stand plants on a bed of gravel and keep it damp. This raises humidity around the plants and helps deter pests. Similarly, mist leaves regularly to keep the surrounding air damp. Leaves gather dust and debris in the still environment of home, so wipe them clean to help photosynthesis. Also watch for pests such as mealybugs, scale insect and aphids, and treat immediately. Unless flowering, plants…

Water well and feed with a liquid tomato food until the leaves die back naturally. 1 Dig around the clump of plants and lift them on the spade, taking care not to damage the bulbs. 2 Work your thumbs into the mass of bulbs and carefully separate them into two or more groups. 3 Check them over and remove and discard – don’t compost – any that are small, soft or rotten. 4 Replant at the same depth as before (stems are white where they were underground) and firm in.…

“Good plants get wider publicity” THERE are several quite different Royal Horticultural Society Awards given to good plants that deserve wider public knowledge and publicity. The most widely used is the RHS Award of Garden Merit (RHS AGM), given after growing comparative trials at Wisley and other public gardens for at least a season and with perennials over several years. Panels of judges with considerable experience assess such trials a number of times before bestowing RHS AGMs and removing them if the cultivar has been superseded. It will be seen from all of this that it takes time to undertake such appraisals. The Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year Award is given to just one cultivar each year. Exhibitors in the Great Pavilion are allowed to submit up to…

• Comfrey has been used for centuries, mainly to treat inflamed digestive tracts and coughs. • Its common name is ‘knitbone’, thought to originate from the fact that it contains high levels of allantoin, which speeds up cell growth and promotes faster healing. • Comfrey root has been used to treat a wide variety of ailments, ranging from bronchial problems (taken internally), broken bones, sprains, arthritis, gastric and varicose ulcers, severe burns, acne and other skin conditions. • Do not use as a health supplement without first seeking professional medical advice.…

“Removing side shoots is a chance to propagate” NOW is the perfect time to start planting tomatoes. We recently did some trials using grow bags and it didn’t seem to make a huge difference how many plants we grew per bag, as one cropped much the same as two or three. What did make a substantial difference was feeding after a few weeks when the compost had become depleted and sapped of goodness. Next, much is made about the continual ‘nipping out’ of side shoots to produce cordon or single-stemmed plants. However, this makes tall plants, which may not be practical. The multi-stem method leaves two or three strong low shoots, removing other side shoots as usual, producing lower, wider plants handy for small greenhouses. It also means you’ll need…

YOU can rely on gardening to introduce yet another confusing term – what does hardening off mean? Hardening up would make more sense, but essentially, it’s the phrase used to describe getting young plants that have been raised indoors used to life outdoors. So, if you’ve been packing your greenhouse, conservatory, porch or windowsill full of seedlings and cuttings, this project is for you! When any plant is grown under the cover of glass, it’s not subjected to the full strength of sun, wind or rain. The protection makes leaves soft and vulnerable, so if these youngsters are then placed directly outside their foliage would scorch off. Follow my step-by-step guide to ensure that doesn’t happen (see right). Top Tip Young plants can be acclimatised in a cold frame or…

MANY gardeners think that zinnias are unreliable plants. But while that may once have been the case, it certainly isn’t any more. It’s true that back when most of the zinnias available were those developed in California, with little consideration of how they would perform anywhere else, they often disappointed British gardeners. But many of the best zinnias now on offer were created in Europe (some actually in Suffolk), while even those developed in California have now been tested in Britain, so things have moved on significantly. And at the RHS Garden at Wisley, Surrey, last summer, one of the most spectacular displays seen for many years was of 146 zinnia varieties. In spite of a very difficult season, an amazing 23 of these were given the coveted Award of…

Is peat suitable for propagation? QI want to use a peat-based compost for propagating, but it is hard to find. However, I can source bags of peat only. Should I mix this with peat-free products, and in what ratio? Emanuel Finegold, via email A I use specifically formulated seed and cutting compost for most of my propagation. There are various brands on the market. There are also some peat-free seed and cutting composts, and although ‘all right’, they are still not as good as the peat-based ones. There are also loam-based ones such as John Innes, which are ideal for seeds of woody plants that need to be sown in autumn for germinating the following spring, and hardwood cuttings that sit dormant through the winter. Like most gardeners, I expect…

Easy Fill Hanging Basket £14.99 for two plus £4.95 delivery 0844 573 1818 Thompson-morgan.com Features Black plastic basket with built-in water reservoir. Twelve snap-in panels for easy planting of sides. Compost capacity 10 litres. Four hanging chains for stability. Dimensions: diameter 14in (36cm), basket height 8 1/2in (22cm), height with chains 24 1/2in (62cm). Performance Easy to fill with compost, no liner required. Stands securely for planting. Good plant capacity with big top area plus 12 side pockets in two tiers. Snap out/in panels make planting sides simple and allow bigger plants to be used. Watering is direct onto compost at the top. It then drains down to reservoir in base. Value Reasonably priced, the easy-fill system is excellent and baskets should last for years.…

THE Russian proverb that states ‘A pessimist is a well-informed optimist’ is worth remembering, especially when choosing outdoor tomatoes. While tempting Italian heritage varieties like ‘Costoluto Genovese’ have names redolent of the Italian Riviera and mouth-watering descriptions, in a poor summer they’re as miserable as a muddy campsite in Bognor Regis. And this means they die of the fungal disease ‘blight’ before a single tomato ripens. For the circumspect, the choice has always been for less romantic but ‘triedand-tested’ varieties like ‘Gardener’s Delight’ or ‘Tumbler’, which may not be the tastiest but always produce something even when blight is bad. Since Glasnost and the fall of the Soviet Union, a group of black-skinned tomatoes has come on the scene. With the same depth of flavour as Mediterranean heritage toms but…

1 Mediterranean: With light soils and a sunny, sheltered position, plants such as rosemary, cypress, olive trees and bird of paradise plants will thrive. 2 Alpines: Fill rockeries and pots with gentians, thrift, sempervivum and aubretia. Keep them well drained and free from weeds and soggy debris. 3 Exotics: Bananas, agapanthus, canna lilies – these bold and statuesque plants lift a summer garden. Just make sure you protect them well in winter. 4 Structure and foliage: Cordylines, persicaria, bamboos and hostas are perfect for adding verdant shape and structure to both open and shady areas.…

THE garden is stuffed with spring bulbs and most of them flower reliably and well each year. But some are less enthusiastic – maybe they are old and too tightly packed, but they need some help. It is frustrating when usually robust plants come up ‘blind’, without blooms, but lifting and dividing daffodils and narcissi after flowering is an easy task that should give you good results. There are several reasons why flowers failed to develop. The bulbs may be old or too cramped or planted at too shallow or deep a depth. Sometimes they can be afflicted by pests or disease, or some may rot in the soil. For the best results daffs should be planted at three times the depth of the bulb in a sunny, sheltered position…

PELARGONIUMS never go out of fashion, even though they are not tremendously well suited to our chilly damp climate. These tender plants die if left outside over winter, which is why we bring them undercover during the coldest months, after taking copious numbers of cuttings as an insurance policy. They need no feed and the bare minimum of watering in winter while they are dormant, but now the weather is on the up you can start preparing them for summer and a return outside. Once you re-start watering they will put on lots of growth that may need calming down. Remove over-long shoots and use them as early cuttings. Pinch out flower buds as they will use up energy the plant would otherwise plough into robust and bushy growth. It…

Check catalogue entries and plant labels for RHS plant awards and look for the ‘Cup Trophy’ logo for the RHS AGM. It is the mark of quality. Double yellow Primula Belarina ‘Buttercup’ and white ‘Snow’ (pictured) have a lovely fragrance. Vigorous growing and free-flowering primroses, (a one-year-old plant of Primula Belarina ‘Nectarine’ will produce over 100 blooms) need good-sized pots and regular feeding through the growing season. All primulas are susceptible to attack by vine weevils. If you see notching to leaves, which is caused by an adult weevil eating into foliage, inspect plants after dark with a torch to catch them.…

THE African roots of this week’s free seeds are there for all to see when you come to sow them. Although these pastel-coloured Dimorphotheca – also known as Osteospermum – will grow happily in thin soil, they do need a sunny spot to put on their best show. So sow them where they won’t be shaded by taller plants, trees or shrubs – towards the front of a sunny border would be ideal. The plants are hardy annuals and can be sown directly in prepared soil. Start by clearing weeds, roots, stones and other debris, then rake the soil one way and then the other until it becomes fine and crumbly. Then sow thinly in curves and swathes rather than rows, as this can look rather regimented and formal and…

1 On warm, damp nights take a torch and go out on a slug, snail, woodlice and cutworm hunt. 2 Start sowing in situ: courgettes sweetcorn, squashes, marrows, cucumbers, pumpkins, French and runner beans – preferably all under protective mini-cloches. 3 Stop cutting asparagus sooner rather than later: if you leave more shoots to become fern, it’ll give you bigger crops next year. 4 Make a hotbed with grass clippings, adding layers of compost or soil. This creates the perfect conditions for pumpkins or even melons to flourish.…

GARDENERS seem complacent about the humble potato, restless to find another tuberous crop that delivers on taste, yield and ease of growth. To that end, seed catalogues continually tempt us with unusual tuberous crops. In years past it’s been the Jerusalem artichoke, then the Chinese artichoke. For around a decade sweet potatoes were the latest must-grow, and in recent months yacon, oca and dahlia are vying for our attention. Both Jerusalem and Chinese artichokes, despite being unrelated, are fully hardy, so are often planted in March or April (if you plant them this month, however, you’ll still gain a good autumn harvest). Potatoes are tender yet we don’t even blink an eye about it, simply covering early crops with fleece if frost is forecast. Sweet potatoes, yacon, oca and dahlias…

IT’S often said that moving to a new house is one of the most stressful things you can do. The experience is made even more emotional if you are leaving behind a much-loved garden. Plants and features hold memories, but with a little planning it is possible to take some of your plot with you. Before I explain how to move your plants to another postcode, I should just clarify that it is completely wrong to remove plants or key features in large numbers without informing the prospective buyer. A good garden is often used as a selling point, and if it’s been dismantled when the new owners move in they could have reason to take legal action. So, be honest from the outset with your estate agent, solicitor, and…

“I don’t suffer from tinnitus as much now, which means I can sleep better at night.” Six million Britons are living with tinnitus – but many feel they aren’t getting enough help. More than half of those who visited their GP with the condition were unhappy with the advice they received, according to research by the British Tinnitus Association. Eighty-eight per cent of those referred to an audiology unit reported having to wait up to four months for an appointment. The good news is there are people who can help. Global hearing specialist Amplifon can quickly provide expert advice and hearing aids to bring respite from symptoms. Studies suggest that hearing aids do reduce the effects of tinnitus for a significant number of people. By amplifying the sounds around them,…

Q My gooseberry bush has powdery mildew. What can I do? Philip Mills, via email A Powdery mildew can develop on the leaves flowers and fruit of many plants. It is prevalent in hot dry weather. It is encouraged by dry soil and humid conditions around the leaves. Provide plenty of water to the roots but avoid wetting the top growth. Overcrowding and overfeeding can also encourage it. Q What is this climbing plant? Marcia Thompson, via email A It is mile-a-minute or Russian vine (Fallopia baldschuanica). A native of Tajikistan, Afghanistan and west Pakistan, it is our fastest growing twining climber. Enjoyed for its whitish-pink summer flowers, it is best trained over a wall or fence or robust tree with which it can’t compete. If it outgrows its situation,…

A sea of colour For many gardeners, May is the month of the tulip. Most general spring bulbs are either yellow, like daffodils, or have purple and pink shades but are on the small side. However, when tulips begin blooming, everyone knows it. Their colours, often planted in blocks, make the garden come alive. So let’s look at some of the facts and quirks associated with the ultimate spring flower. Tulipomania arrives in Britain The first tulips were imported to Britain from Turkey in 1577. Their flowers were plain and dull, in shades of white, yellow, purple or red. But they were seen as curiosities and, even then, only the wealthy could afford them. However, in 1634 “Tulipomania” broke out in the Netherlands. The tulip’s popularity soared, sending the prices…