Innholdsfortegnelse for 4-Apr-2020 i Amateur Gardening

“At the time of writing, the Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) means many of you are having to self-isolate or – as is the case with AG staff – work from home. For those who can’t get out, I’m sure the garden is a lifeline. So readers don’t feel entirely cut off, AG Gardening Editor Ruth Hayes will be posting a daily blog on our websiteamateurgardening.com.com. Ruth is currently self-isolating, so she will be able to relate her experiences which will hopefully help those in a similar position. Please visit the site to read her blog, and do keep safe.”…

Houseplant help: As indoor plants start to revive after winter, I show you what you can do now to get them going and keep them growing well. CONTAINERS and growbags are easy to maintain, but their plants will need extra feeding through the growing season. Although most container and growbag composts have several months of slow-release goodness built in, it soon depletes when planted up, whether you are growing ornamental bedding or vegetable crops. You may need to feed your plants every 10-14 days (more regularly for hungry vegetables) with liquid fertilisers such as Maxicrop, Tomorite and Big Tom, which are rich in nutrients and help produce bountiful blooms and improved crop yields. Potted shrubs and trees also need supplementary feeding during the growing season. Acid-loving rhododendrons, azaleas and blueberries…

PLUG plants are a great way of taking the faff out of growing your summer garden. They are an easy and economical way of growing ornamentals and vegetables because someone else has gone to the trouble of sowing, germinating and then raising the seedlings. The plants are small and are usually bought in trays (you get a lot for your money if you buy online) or singly, in a floral version of the ‘pick and mix’ sweets of old. you buy them online, make sure you care for them properly when they arrive as they are extremely small and delicate and will quickly succumb to adverse conditions, pests and diseases. Remove them from their packaging and keep them somewhere sheltered and frost-free outside for around 24 hours. If their compost…

WE all know how bees are having a hard time at the moment – both our domesticated honey bees and the many sorts of solitary bees. In some areas, few are seldom seen, and especially so this early in the season. Fortunately, most vegetable crops do not require pollination to grow to harvest (although it is different if these are being grown for seed). Thus, it’s principally our fruits that are being handicapped. Although a few may be able to set some crops even if not pollinated, the vast majority need good pollination, and this is commonly performed by bees of one sort or another. No bees = no fruits. Thus, we may need to step in and help out, and luckily this is not at all difficult. “Most of…

WHETHER you’re a shelling, mangetout or sugar-snap fan, there’s a pod out there with your name on it. But how do you get maximum yield from this stalwart crop? Let me explain… Sow in batches for pod succession When growing peas, one element is fundamental to success – it’s all in the roots. The larger the root system, the bigger the crop: it’s that simple. To get a decent network of roots, you need to provide an open, moist (but not waterlogged), warm (but not hot) soil. Sounds complicated? Trust me, it’s not – just sow sufficiently early in the spring, and protect all sowings from mice “Robust pea plants will quickly put on rapid leaf growth” Cold soils are also a no-no, with seeds rotting off if sown below…

THERE are only a few garden shrubs that tick all the boxes: grows slowly to a manageable size, bears beautiful spring blossom, gives gorgeous autumn colour, is beneficial to wildlife, and yields tasty fruit. The snowy mespilus (Amelanchier lamarckii – aka the juneberry), my gardening friends, is a must-grow plant! It’s fully hardy, and will bear its ½in (1cm) diameter, apple-flavoured fruits best in a sunny, sheltered spot (this also provides the best autumn leaf colour, though it can also be sited in shade). A moist, slightly acidic soil is preferred (its only request, as it doesn’t mind sand or clay), and being self-fertile, just one bush is needed to obtain a crop. The white, starry flowers are borne profusely and will appear this month, and the fruits will ripen…

Buxus sempervirens With its tiny glossy green leaves and slow growth habit, common box lends itself perfectly to topiary balls. Clip into shape with shears in early or late summer. Be very wary of box blight. H&S: 20ft (6m) in 30 years. Convolvulus cneorum The ideal evergreen for creating a Mediterranean theme on your patio. The thin, silvery foliage is accompanied by white trumpet-shaped flowers in May. Dislikes being too wet; add plenty of grit to boost drainage. H&S: 21/2ft (75cm). Phormium Slow-growing, the sword-shaped leaves of phormiums come in a range of bold colours. Choose carefully and you’ll be able to augment the pot with summer bedding; try P. cookianum subsp. hookeri ‘Cream Delight’. H&S: 21/2ft (75cm).…

Arisarum proboscideum Known as mouse plant, this arum lily relative from Spain and Italy will delight younger children, who love to search for the brown, tail-like tips of hooded flower spathes, which are tucked in among the arrow-shaped leaves. HxS: 6inx1ft (15x30cm). Sanicula epipactis AGM Formerly known as hacquetia, this lowly European woodlander makes a subtle carpet of long-lasting green collars centred with pincushions of small golden flowers. The blooms are held on stems just 2in (5cm) high, while the leaves rise above them. HxS: 4inx1ft (10x30cm). Sanguinaria canadensis f. multiplex ‘Plena’ AGM The cut rhizomes of North American bloodroot exude a red, poisonous sap (it’s used as a dye by Native American artists). This double form opens into puffs of white petals above lobed leaves as growth thrusts upward…

Can I still sow last year’s sunflower seeds? QI didn’t sow every seed in a packet of sunflowers last year. Will they still be OK to use this spring? Jennie Collins, Marlborough, Wiltshire AI am delighted to tell you that sunflower seeds have a life of more than 10 years if kept cool and dry, such as in a sealed plastic bag in a fridge. When you wish to sow the seeds, check their viability by sprinkling a few onto a sheet of damp kitchen roll placed in an open ice cream container, positioned in a warm place, such as on a boiler or in an airing cupboard. If, within a week or so, the majority of seeds germinate and you are aware of tiny sprouts, remaining seeds will still…

This week it’s: WE are all familiar with edible onions (Allium cepa), shallots (A. oschaninii), leeks (A. ampeloprasum), scallions (allium species), and herbs like garlic (A. sativum) and chives (A. schoenoprasum). However, these represent a tiny fraction of the alliums out there. In the past 50 years, millions of alliums grown just for their flowering and decorative qualities have found their ways into our gardens, and in late spring or early summer today you would be hard-pressed to find a garden centre (or Chelsea Flower Show display garden), that doesn’t feature them. Let’s look at some of the fascinating stories surrounding them. The genus name of ‘allium’ is actually the Latin word for garlic; the full botanical name for this plant is Allium sativum, which directly translates as ‘cultivated garlic’.…

Aseed tray is just a shallow opentopped box a couple of inches deep. Originally wood but now usually made of plastic, it’s filled with multi-purpose or seed-and-cuttings compost, and seeds are sowed either broadcast (scattered over the surface) or spaced precisely in rows. A little compost is scattered over the surface, it’s watered and then placed in a warm, bright spot to encourage germination. Open seed trays come in various sizes, but most are roughly A4, with smaller ones available. Benefits of cell trays Cell trays are A4 blocks of evenly spaced small modules or cells. The cells vary in size – you choose the size depending on the size and vigour of seed you plan to sow, so for runner beans you’d choose a bigger cell, while for African…

LIKE all of us, plants get hungry, and while they probably won’t throw a low-blood-sugar temper tantrum, they may start to look a little peaky. This is because over time soil gets depleted of its essential nutrients and minerals, the ones that keep plants strong and robust. Once these start to wane, leaves may turn brown or yellow, flowering and fruiting falls off and plants become susceptible to pests and disease. There are several reasons why soil loses its goodness: it gets absorbed and used by questing roots; it is washed away by prolonged spells of rains (this may be a common problem after this winter); and certain soils are less able to hang onto their goodness in the first place. Calcium, potassium, magnesium and copper become more soluble –…

THERE is a bamboozling array of products available, so it helps to know where to begin when buying them. Start by looking at the nutrient balance of each product. The main components of most general fertilisers are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, which can be seen on labeling as ‘NPK’. These are the building blocks for robust, healthy plants with lots of flowers and generous cropping. Nitrogen (‘N’ on labels) is essential for plants grown for their leaves, such as ornamental foliage shrubs and leafy veggies. Sulphate of ammonia would be a go-to fertiliser here. Potassium (K) boosts development of flowers and crops, and can be found in liquid tomato feeds. For strong root development you need a feed that is rich in phosphorus (P), which can be found in bonemeal.…

COSMOS is a good name for this week’s free seeds as they are for a universally loved and varied summer annual. Brightening borders and containers with their cheery daisy-like flowers shining above delicate frondy foliage, cosmos are a summer treat. Easy to sow and even easier on the eye, they flourish in fertile soil in a sunny site and make excellent cut flowers, lasting well over a week if they are harvested just as the buds are opening. Sow undercover now as it is still too cold for these half-hardies to thrive outside if sown directly into beds. Cosmos are also excellent for bees, butterflies and other pollinators, so for a garden that’s rich in insect life – and, by association, other wildlife – sow some cosmos seeds today! This…

I’M a massive fan of Thai cuisine, and while I can’t yet claim to create a homegrown green curry paste in my kitchen, I’m taking a step closer this summer by adding lemongrass and Thai basil to my edible plant collection. It excites me tremendously that gardeners are increasingly keen to start growing more international foods. This expansion from temperate to more tropical crops may take up room on the warmer sides of the plot and demand overwintering under cover, but our tastebuds are in for a treat. Ginger is also on my wish list, along with its more citrusy rhizome relative, galangal, and kaffir lime. If you also purr at the idea of growing these curry paste exotics, be prepared to water. All enjoy warmth, yet none will appreciate…

• Soil preparation is key when planting evergreens. Dig a planting hole that’s at least one and a half times the size of the pot, and incorporate a handful of general fertiliser, mixing it in with the soil you have excavated. • Make sure the plant is sitting at the correct height – line up the top of the rootball with a garden cane placed across the hole. Backfill, firm the soil and water well, before applying a mulch of well-rotted manure or garden compost. • Staking may be necessary, and you’ll definitely need to water regularly during spells of dry weather in the first year.…

Crinodendron hookerianum AGM The Chile lantern tree produces unusually shaped bright red blooms from late spring through to late summer. Needs acidic soil and a sheltered spot in light shade to perform at its best. Slow growing, making it easy to keep to size. H: 20ft (6m). Acacia pravissima AGM The weeping branches of oven’s wattle are covered in tiny bright yellow pompom flowers in March. It responds well to pruning after flowering, and will put on lots of growth in a hot, dry summer. Best suited to milder areas, but likely to survive to -10C (14F) anywhere. HxS: 8x61/2ft (3x2m). Griselinia littoralis ‘Variegata’ AGM Often used as a hedging plant in seaside gardens, this glossyleaved shrub copes well with sea spray. It tolerates shade, too. Keep an eye out…

RELATED to berberis, podophyllums are poisonous herbaceous perennials with especially lush foliage. The mottled umbrella-like leaves of Sinopodophyllum hexandrum are handsome, while those of P. versipelle ‘Spotty Dotty’ AGM are leathery and toad-like. Many woodlanders die back in summer, so plan a matrix of foliage colours and shapes for other seasons. The upright shuttlecocks of ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris AGM) and evergreen many-eyelashed fern (Polystichum polyblepharum AGM) are strong choices. Woodland grasses including Bowles’s golden grass (Milium effusum ‘Aureum’ AGM) and Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ AGM offer useful contrast for greens.…

QIt makes sense to grow favourite veg that tend to be costly to buy, so I decided to grow purple sprouting broccoli. I sowed it last summer into a nursery bed and planted it out, but the plants are tiny with miniature heads. How can I do better for next season? Corinne Hayworth, Kettering, Northants. AThe delicious spears of traditional purple sprouting broccoli consist of densely packed flower buds, tender stems and a few fresh, young leaves. As a vegetable delicacy, they are up there with asparagus and far tastier than the larger heads of calabrese. Traditional varieties fill a hungry gap between winter and spring, plus spears are costly to buy, and shop-bought offerings can be somewhat limp. Purple sprouting broccoli takes almost a year to crop, but is…

CONSIDER this saying: “Great fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite ’em, and little fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum.” This was penned in 1872, not by Spike Milligan but the British mathematician Augustus De Morgan, to illustrate that everything – distant galaxies, asteroids and atoms – is made of ever-smaller fragments. It’s a witty ditty that always comes to mind when cracking open my compost heap, as like a watering hole in the Serengeti, the clutter of leaf litter draws predators and prey like a magnet. I’d barely dug into the rotted heart of my heap before I’d unearthed the looped knot of a slow worm. About 9in (23cm) long and with skin the colour of polished bronze, the slow worm looks for all the…

Rosa ‘Silas Marner’ from David Austin David Austin Roses is continuing its literary theme with two new plants for 2020. ‘Silas Marner’ is an ‘unfussy’ pink bush rose with a medium fragrance, distinctive red stems and medium-sized cup-shaped blooms. ‘The Country Parson’ is a shrub rose with yellow flowers that have a sweet, natural scent. Prices for both £29 container, £22 bare root. Sluggo Ultra granules Slugs and snails are proliferating thanks to the mild, wet winter, but organic garden expert Neudorff has devised a new way of beating them Sluggo Ultra pellets are free of the controversial poison metaldehyde and are smaller than standard pellets, which makes them ideal for targeting young molluscs before they have a chance to breed. Price £7.49 for a 600g bottle. NemaKnights nematode granules…

WHILE gardeners speak freely about mulches, the word means little to the average householder, and the dictionary does not help much with its description of a “mixture of wet straw, leaves, etc. spread to protect roots of newly planted trees”. A mulch is, in fact, a layer of organic matter spread over the surface soil for several purposes. It can be applied either in spring to retain moisture through the summer (as in protecting the roots of newly planted trees), or year-round to control seedling weeds and in a no-dig practice improve the top few inches of the soil, being taken down by worms. There are a number of organic materials we can use to mulch: well-rotted garden compost and manures; leaf mould made by composting fallen leaves for several…

EVERY time you log on to the news, or read a newspaper, there’s more doom and gloom about wildlife and climate change. Although it’s meant to make us rise to the challenge, resolute bad news can make you feel hopeless. You may end up wondering if you can do anything at all, but rest assured – you can! Understanding how wildlife survives is the first step, because you have to accept it all and not cherry-pick the good guys. If you want song thrushes to sing on an April evening, repeating phrases ‘twice over’, you’ll need a supply of garden snails because this is their key food in spring. Hedgehogs rely on slugs in autumn, because their preferred beetles and caterpillars are only around in summer. Nesting birds need aphids…

1 Fill individual pots with potting compost (rubbing any large lumps out first), then water these well and allow them to drain. Move them to your propagation area, ideally overnight, to warm up and deter root chills. 2Once your seedlings are large enough to handle (those pictured here are chillies), gently tease them individually out of their pot using a kitchen fork, holding the leaves. If very congested, water the compost well beforehand. 3Make a hole in the centre of each pot with your fork or dibber, then gently push the seedling’s roots into it. Firm the plant in gently so it sits upright, water in well and leave to grow on somewhere warm. Sowing unusual cucurbits WE’RE all familiar with courgettes, cucumbers and melons, but did you know this…

THESE are greenhouses that have been adapted to the specific needs of some alpines. Ventilation is crucial in both the roof and the sides of the alpine house, where it should be at the same height as the plants. Shading in summer is also important, and will prevent scorching and overheating. Plunge beds – raised beds filled with sand into which alpines in terracotta pots are sunk – maintain a constant temperature around the plants.…

Aucuba japonica ‘Crotonifolia’ AGM The Japanese laurel thrives in places where little else will grow. Good for lighting up a shady part of the garden and providing a green backdrop for summer flowers, the large leathery leaves are splashed with yellow. Also features red autumn berries. H&S: 6ft (1.8m) Erica carnea With their needlelike leaves and pretty flowers, heathers are such helpful plants This lime-tolerant species blooms in late winter/early spring, bringing interest plus nectar for early bees. Some varieties have attractive leaf colour. Prefers acid-to-neutral soil; mulch in spring. Try deep pink ‘Myretoun Ruby (left). HxS: varies. Sarcococca confusa AGM The Christmas box’s white winter flowers are so tiny they are often camouflaged by the leaves. But such is the strength of their sweet scent that they’re hard to…

SPRING is in the air, luring us out for a walk in the woods. Here we can experience birdsong, the play of light through branches, glistening moss and raindrops on ferns. We’ll feel the softness of leaf mould underfoot and fill our nostrils with the scent from carpets of bluebells woven with white stitchwort and wood sorrel. Returning with all senses nourished, why not think about recreating some woodland magic in the garden? Early nectar for bees Transforming a gloomy corner will add spring colour and help garden wildlife, too. Early nectar from a wide range of flower shapes will be relished by bees emerging from hibernation, and moist ground cover is just what frogs, toads and newts need to safely access their breeding ponds. Natural woodland is comprised of…

Galium odoratum Perennial sweet woodruff spreads by rhizomes to colonise damp, shady nooks. Small clusters of tiny, fragrant, star shaped flowers open from April to July against whorls of emerald green leaves. All will die back for winter. Lamium orvala The balm-leaved archangel will flower well even in dry shade. Stems bear soft leaves that are joined in May by spikes of hooded, dusky pink flowers. Easy to propagate by softwood cuttings at any time of year. H&S: 1ft (30cm).…

Write to us: Letters, Amateur Gardening magazine, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough, Hants GU14 7BF (please include your address). Email us: amateurgardening@ti-media.com Star letter IT saddens me that so many of our back-garden hedges are now being lost to fencing, often ripped out by people who are young and fit enough to maintain one. Maybe they’re intimidated by a large established hedge and they don’t realise it can be reduced almost to the ground yet will grow again. I’ve done a little bit to buck the trend by ripping out our old fence and, with the neighbour’s blessing, planting bare-root privet a couple of months ago. The total price was a fraction of what new fence panels and posts would have cost. I’m now pleased to see…