Innholdsfortegnelse for 12-nov-16 i Amateur Gardening

AS gardeners, should we be concerned by changes in the environment? We are warned of catastrophic events if global warming (and changes to plant and animal species) continues: bees will be wiped out; alien pests will invade from the continent and ravage ‘native’ plants; cold climate plants and animals will decline… On the one hand it worries me just as much as it does other people, but on the other I do like the world around me as it is. Yet if we step back for a moment and listen to what history and science tells us about the big picture, all this has been going on for millions of years. Life on earth is constantly changing: one species of plant or animal dominates while another declines. I say I…

1 Carefully dig around the plant before lifting it, so you keep as much soil around the roots as possible. 2 Dig a new hole as deep as the plant’s roots, and slightly wider. Place the plant in, and fill around it. 3 Gently firm the soil around the plant, and water it. This helps to settle roots and further firm the soil. 4 Mulch with manure or compost to release nutrients, suppress weeds, retain moisture and insulate the roots.…

• As temperatures plummet, plants aren’t the only things in the garden at risk from freezing conditions. • A fractured pipe or frozen tap will cause major problems, but these problems are easily avoided. • Insulation is key, so use foam lagging to protect pipes, and wrap taps in bubble wrap or buy an insulated cover, to stop them freezing. • Where possible, isolate outside taps from the mains. • You should also drain fountains and water features to prevent them freezing and cracking. • Finally, make sure everyone in the household knows the location of the water stopcock, so it can be turned off quickly if a pipe bursts.…

• Blueberries are a superfood – rich in antioxidants, and utterly delicious. • They are easy to grow, giving the best results in a sunny situation, with soil enriched with organic matter. • Blueberries like acid soil, so if your garden has a pH of 5.5 or more, lower it with sulphur chips. Composted pine needles or conifer clippings will also help to make it more acidic. • If it is alkaline (higher than pH8) grow plants in containers of ericaceous compost. Start with a 12in (30cm) diameter pot and move on to 18-20in (45-50cm) as plants grow. • Keep blueberries moist, but not waterlogged. Where possible water with rainwater, as some tap water can affect acidity.…

1 True yellow flowers appear from within brightly coloured bracts. Even when not in bloom, rosettes of shiny leaves have a structural beauty. 2 Water is added to the ‘urn’ of leaves while a rosette is growing. Empty and replace if it gets smelly but when in bloom, don’t add much. 3 To maintain humidity around a guzmania, arrange it with other plants, stood on a layer of shingle creating a warm, humid microclimate. 4 Keep the shingle moist by spraying it with water regularly. I’m not a fan of spraying the plants themselves.…

IT doesn’t matter if you’ve got a tiny plot, or (like me) you’re trying to cram as many fruit and veg as possible into your garden – there are ways to do it. Gardens have boundaries – often walls or fences – and these are excellent vertical surfaces to utilise. Fanning out branches against them makes picking and netting fruit a doddle, and many plants lend themselves to fan-training. Shadywalls can be clad with redcurrants, gooseberries and morello cherries, while sunnier spots are ideal for peaches, gages and figs. I planted gooseberries against a north wall last autumn, and now I’m training their branches – here’s how to do it: Top Tip Gooseberry sawfly pests overwinter in the soil. Carefully rake up debris and leaves around the plant now, scratching…

I HAVE to be honest – I’m guilty of hoarding veg seeds for years and years. Many of them now won’t germinate as they’re too old, but I hang on to some because I bought them on holidays, and they remind me of the experience. Every now and again I sort through the five (yes five!) tubs I have, throwing out those that are well and truly past it. It helps to avoid the disappointment felt when you sow a row and nothing whatsoever comes up. Seeds have a finite life – check the back of your packets for a ‘sow by’ date. This date assumes that you’re storing your seed correctly (in an airtight container containing sachets of silica gel, in a cool dry place) and that any foil…

GARDEN birds are warm-blooded – in fact, they have a much higher metabolism and thus a higher body temperature than humans. So surely they must feel the cold in winter? Exact body temperatures vary between species, the time of day and the amount of activity (flying) that takes place, but it can be a challenge for birds to maintain such a high body heat when the climate dips severely. Small birds are particularly at risk, since they have a proportionally larger body surface area from which to lose heat, and a smaller core volume to generate it. However, even the smallest birds know efficient ways to keep warm. Their feathers are a crucial factor; healthy feathers are coated with an oil that provides insulation, as well as waterproofing. Also, many…

ENGLISH Heritage has launched a campaign to save native and historic varieties of daffodil and bluebells, both of which are at risk from aggressive hybrids and nontraditional types. The charity’s gardeners and volunteers planted 25,000 native and heritage bulbs in the grounds of 11 of properties including Brodsworth Hall in South Yorkshire and Kenwood in London. Native species The public were urged to join the campaign with the offer of free daffodil or bluebell bulbs to plant in their own gardens. Spokesman John Watkins said: “Our native species and historic cultivars are under threat from cross-pollination with non-native species and hybrids that flower at the same time. The resulting offspring will be hybrids and are likely to outperform and out-compete the native species. “Historic gardens are often the last refuge…

PHEW – just missed it. When sweeping out the greenhouse I almost put the handle of the brush through a pane of glass. I must learn to sweep with my back to the wall in this lean-to structure to avoid an accident. Two weeks ago the fuchsias were removed and put in the cellar and the geraniums and succulents have since been put in the heated polytunnel. The greenhouse is now due a good clean. Petals are swept up and moss lifted. As the greenhouse is so old, weeds have made a home in the cracks in the woodwork. The weeds that are often found here are yellow corydalis (Pseudofumaria lutea) and least yellow-sorrel (Oxalis exilis). If you don’t clear your greenhouse out for winter you’d be wise to have…

How do I make leaf mould? Q My lawn is covered in fallen leaves and I’m keen to use them to make leaf mould. How do I do this? How long will it be before my leaf mould is ready to use? Bonnie Smith, Brighton A Leaf mould is the residue of decayed leaves. When ready to use it forms a dark-brown, friable material rich in humus but low in nutrients, which is invaluable as a soil conditioner or mulch. Collecting leaves keeps the garden tidy and prevents paths and steps from becoming hazardous. A covering of leaves can smother and weaken lawns, providing over wintering material for pests and diseases to hide in. Small plants such as alpines can rot under a blanket of leaves. But the biggest advantage…

Be led by heart or head. Heart: you choose by colour, fragrance and romantic name and then wander around looking for the right spot for it. Head: you analyse the position available and then decide whether a rambler, climber, shrub, bush, miniature or landscape type will do the best job. Must it be fragrant, should it flower once or repeatedly, and do you like old-style blooms or more modern, structured hybrid tea flowers? Maybe you aren’t so bothered about scent but want an absolute mass of long-lasting colour (ground cover or landscape roses fit the bill).…

Spooky goings on! OUR children started their own pumpkin from seed and once it was big enough we transferred it to the poly tunnel on our allotment. In retrospect it might not have been such a good idea as it did sort of take over the tunnel, but just look at the result! The children watched it get bigger and bigger and then we picked it to bring home ready to carve. Not a bad attempt for our first effort at growing a pumpkin. The kids loved Katherine Miller’s tips for carving pumpkins (AG, 29 Oct) and although ours isn’t as big as the one on page 24 of the same issue (news pages), maybe next year’s one could be! Michele Boutin, Blyth, Northumberland As good as gold MY Buddleja…

“Feed the soil before the onset of winter” GIVE or take a bit of weeding and deadheading, perennial borders can pretty much be left to their own devices over the summer months. Here in the south we experienced an Indian summer, with long-lasting dry conditions and warm temperatures that encouraged perennials to flower well into the middle of October. But now they are past their best and are starting to look tatty and bedraggled, which spoils the look of the garden. More importantly, a carpet of dead, dying and rotting vegetation is a breeding ground for fungal disease, as well as a hideout for pests such as slugs and snails. So it is time to cut back most perennials, and tidy and feed the border soil before it shuts down…

MY favourite tree in the garden – an Amalanchier lamarckii that has an amazing display of white flowers in spring, plus scarlet berries and glorious foliage in autumn – is in need of a trim. The branches have grown out of shape (and are starting to get tangled in the washing line!) and a single branch growing vertically from the main trunk spoils the overall look of the tree, and needs to be removed. Most deciduous trees should be pruned in autumn when the leaves have dropped and the sap has retreated, so they should not ‘bleed’ profusely, if at all, from pruning cuts. However, certain trees including plum, cherry, apricot, almond, and Rhododendron, are susceptible to the fungal disease silver leaf, which releases spores between September and May. The…

SOFT fruit are the sweeties of the garden: tempting, colourful – a real treat for the eye and the palate. Shrubs of black, red and white currant, gooseberry and blueberry, and cane fruits like raspberries, blackberries and tayberries and their ilk, are relatively easy to grow, and will start producing fruit in their second year. Container-grown bushes and canes are available all year, but between now and the end of February, you can also buy smaller, cheaper bare-root plants and autumn is a great time to get all of them in the soil. Soft fruits like a sunny, sheltered position with fertile, well-drained soil. Dig in well-rotted compost or manure before planting. Soft fruit comes in many shapes and sizes, so whatever size your garden, you should have room for…

“Most gardeners like a challenge” IT gives me considerable pleasure to see crops grown well, in part I suppose because of the admiration I have for the skill and attention to detail it takes. We all know too, that it is also possible to do a little better next year and most gardeners like a challenge. Matthew Oliver at RHS garden Hyde Hall put his head above the parapet last autumn and took on the challenge of growing a giant pumpkin from one seed bought from Thompson & Morgan. He did a remarkable job growing the heaviest outdoor pumpkin ever in the UK with his giant weighing in at 1,333.8lb (605 kg). Look closely at the stems of his plant (inset) and you can see they have been top dressed…

• Good but not scorching light is needed, so in winter, place near a bright window but move further back for summer. Keep plants warm and humid, at least 60˚F (15˚C). • Keep compost moist but not saturated, as the small root system easily rots. Top up urns but hold back during cold winter temperatures or when in bloom. • Add a weak liquid feed to water (for pot and urn) every month or so. • When repotting, keep pots small and use an open compost low in lime. 50:50 coarse leaf mould (or composted bark) and ericaceous compost would work.…

BEING a bit of a fan of blueberries, I’ve planted four in my garden – ‘Bluecrop’, ‘Patriot’, ‘Brigitta’ and ‘Goldtraube’. They’ve shown beautiful autumn leaf colour recently.... but it’s the fruits we’re interested in! Now is a great time to buy and plant a bush as it will have time to settle in. One bush on it’s own will set a good crop. Just bear in mind the main requirements of these plants – they need a moist, acidic soil. By far the easiest way to provide this is to plant them into a large container of ericaceous compost. A large pot will easily stay moist when watered – simply line the sides with plastic if you use a porous terracotta one. If planting in the earth, like me, add…

HAVE you ever eaten one of the most delicious parts of a Brussels sprout? That huge, billowing mound of foliage on the top of each plant is as tasty as the little buttons themselves. As most of us only need to grow half a dozen or so plants, it’s a bit of a rarity, too, so reserve it for a special meal like a hearty lamb casserole or nut roast. The tops are easy to snap out of each plant and taste just like a cabbage – just with added sproutiness! As well as providing you with something tasty for the kitchen, harvesting the tops also encourages the buttons below to swell because you’re removing the main growing point of the plant. All the more reason to fire up the…

12 November: High Close Estate, Loughrigg, Ambleside, Cumbria LA22 9HH. Victorian tree plantings and beautiful Lakeland vistas. Open in aid of British Red Cross. Entry by donation. 11am-4pm 07738 944 551 redcross.org.uk 12 November: An Afternoon with Delphiniums, RHS Garden Wisley, Wisley Lane, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB 0203 1765 830 or rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisely 12-13 November: RHS London Urban Garden Show, RHS Lindley Hall, 80 Vincent Square, London SW1P 2PE rhs.org.uk/shows-events 17-20 November: Frost Fair, Hatfield House, Hatfield AL9 5NQ, 10am-5pm. Drop in workshops include Christmas decorating with flowers and greenery. £8 adults, 15 and under free. 01707 287010 hatfield-house.co.uk 18 November: Launch of the Magical Winter Garden Illuminations RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH. Normal garden admission, half price after 4pm 01805 626800, rhs.org.uk/gardens/rosemoor 18-20 November: Christmas market, Hestercombe…

AS most gardeners know, a tomato eaten straight from the plant tastes better than fruit that’s been stored in the fridge. Now, it’s official, after scientists found that chilling tomatoes wipes out flavour. Researchers at the University of Florida discovered that refrigerating tomatoes below 12°C (54°F) stops fruit from making substances that contribute towards their taste. Cold, said the report, causes genes of tomatoes to “chill out” which “robs fruit of flavour”. Scientists stored modern and traditional varieties of tomato at 5°C (41°F) for one, three and seven days. They were then moved to a 20°C (54°F) zone for up to three days, with taste tests carried out, but fruits did not return to original flavour levels. Taste better Where tomatoes had been chilled for seven days, they were found…

Prepare ground by loosening soil and adding manure or compost to improve sandy or heavy clay types. Don’t attempt to grow in containers as the roots don’t like to be restricted. Dig a hole as deep as the root ball and three times as wide. Water potted trees well or soak bare roots before planting – dust roots with mycorrhizal fungi to aid establishment. Place tree in hole and fill with soil, gently firming it around the roots. Make sure soil does not cover the graft line – you need to leave enough room to mulch the top of the soil. Water well and keep checking area to ensure it’s sufficiently moist during the first year. Mulch well and protect young trees against slugs, rabbits and deer.…

RAKING autumn leaves off a small lawn is all well and good, but collecting them from paths, patios and driveways is a different matter. Corded electrical leaf blowers and vacs are useful but can get heavy as their bags fill with mulched leaves, and of course they are attached to a cable. A cordless blower is ideal for getting unrestricted access to all corners of the garden to blow leaves into manageable piles that are then easy to pick up. We tested four established brands to see just how easy they are to use, and how long they’ll work before needing a battery recharge (which generally takes an hour or less). Where they have more than one speed we ran them alternately for a couple of minutes at a time…

• Ensure the leaf mould heap is watered regularly during the summer and also turned, so any dry corners and edges are mixed into the centre of the heap. This ensures that the contents can continue to be broken down by fungi. • Diseased foliage should not be composted. Burn or dispose of it another way. Diseased leaves tend to fall early so can be collected up and got rid of before collecting ‘healthy’ leaves that tend to fall all of a sudden after autumn colour. • You can use leaf mould as a seed sowing compost, provided it is well rotted and at least two years old. Mixed equally with sharp sand, garden compost and good quality soil you can use it as a potting compost.…

‘Etoile de Hollande’ Sumptuous, double-red flowers on a healthy, vigorous climber have a delicious perfume. The stout stems make a good frame for adding honeysuckle or clematis. ‘The Pilgrim’ The flattened blooms of this English shrub rose or climber are packed with petals, yellow inside and pale to the edge. Blooms have lovely perfume. ‘The Generous Gardener’ The big, cup-shaped flowers of this English Musk hybrid large shrub or climbing rose are of palest pink. Theywaft out delicious fragrance and open repeatedly. ‘Ferdinand Pichard’ I rather like striped flowers and this old rose draws attention with pink and white, richly-scented blooms, produced all summer.…

1 Cut back flowered perennials 4in (10cm) above new shoots. The old stems help protect them from cold. 2 Keep weeding, making sure you remove every bit of perennial weeds, otherwise they will soon grow back. 3 Clear away faded summer bedding and annuals to tidy the border and make room for winter and spring plants. 4 Edge borders for a tidy look, and to remove longer grass and weeds that can harbour pests and disease. 5 Mulch empty borders and around plants with well-rotted compost or manure. It will feed the soil in winter.…

GARDENING can become a heavy chore if you don’t look after your tools properly. Preparing equipment for winter storage isn’t difficult, and shouldn’t take long. But it will pay dividends next spring, when your tools are rust-free and ready to use. Secateurs and shears should be wiped clean with a paper towel after every use. Before winter, squirt blades with anti-bacterial hand soap, scrub them clean, and when dry wipe them over with an oiled cloth. Oil all moving parts. Also spray a few drops of oil onto the blades of power tools after cleaning them, to prevent them rusting over winter. Don’t leave spades and border forks with soil on their blades and tines. Wash, dry then oil them. The old fashioned way was to plunge the blades into…

1 Choose a sunny spot with fertile, well-drained soil. Dig in well-rotted compost or manure before planting. 2 Dig a hole a little wider and deeper than the rootball. Drop the plant in to check you’ve got the size right. 3 Now set the plant in the hole, filling around the roots with a mix of soil and compost. Firm in, and water. 4 Container-grown plants need large pots and loam-based compost, such as John Innes No 3, kept damp.…

SHOWY, bright-bracted guzmanias are hard to resist on a gloomy November day and they seem to be everywhere, in supermarkets and DIY stores. That these bromeliads from South American rain forests have been hybridised, mass-produced and offered up at such tempting prices seems almost astonishing. I bought one, and back at home peeled off the cellophane wrapping and drained the pot sleeve. I’ve arranged my new acquisition with an understorey of pilea and scindapsus – other rainforest plants though with ancestors as far flung as Vietnam and Borneo. I’ve inherited a number of old china meat or sandwich platters that are not particularly valuable but ideal for grouping plants together. Guzmanias are mainly epiphytic in the wild, roots anchoring into niches up in tree trunks and branches. Here, the urns…

A GARDENER who planted a pineapple he bought at Tesco eight years ago was stunned after it bore fruit. Fred Lovatt, 79, sliced off the pineapple’s spiky top, placed it in a pot of compost and left it on his dining table. Perfectly formed It grew into a 3ft (90cm) plant and last month a perfectly-formed pineapple appeared. Pineapples normally grow in tropical climates, or need to be nurtured by expert gardeners like Bob Flowerdew. But Fred of Cirencester in Gloucestershire, proved that amateur gardeners can grow the fruit at home. Fred said: “I used to work there [Tesco] and I thought: ‘I reckon I could root one of the pineapples’ so I tried it. I cut the top off and placed it in a pot, about 10in deep. “It’s…

GARDENERS could benefit from better winter weather warnings after the Met Office claimed it has improved its long-range forecasting ability. The Met Office has been ridiculed in the past for its inaccurate predictions, such as failing to warn of the big freeze in 2009-10. Now, scientists say they have unlocked the secrets of weather systems that control our climate. The Met Office used its £97million ‘supercomputer’ to study phases of ‘North Atlantic Oscillation’ (NAO) which drives winter weather in Europe and North America. The NAO goes through two phases: a ‘positive’ phase can bring mild and stormy weather while a ‘negative’ reading hints at periods of more settled dry and cold conditions.…

THRIVING in our unheated greenhouse against a south-facing wall is a loquat (Eriobotrya japonica). My uncle tells me that this plant was given to him by one of his mother’s friends when it outgrew her London flat. Since then it has had a happy life in the greenhouse where it has been planted in the ground. By my reckoning it’s now about 30 years old. It’s an impressive self-fertile plant with large evergreen leaves that have white, soft undersides. The RHS gives it a hardiness rating of H3 (copes with temperatures down to -5° C). Therefore, it could be grown outside if given protection in winter. We’ve never experienced the flowers here but if temperatures were higher the white, scented blooms would appear in late summer. In its native China…

IVY is such a useful evergreen climber and if kept well-trimmed it won’t take over. So any I find growing up into guttering will be pulled away from the wall and cut back. However, ivy growing in the informal boundaries of the garden will be left untrimmed as will any in flower as honey bees find the late flowers a very valuable source of nectar in autumn. Some gardeners believe ivy protects walls from heat and cold but others consider it to be damaging to structures. I’m not sure who is right but the bees and I would certainly miss the curtains of green that clothe some of our garden buildings.…

Bulb Baskets £3.99 for 3 + £4.95 p&p 0844 573 1818 thompson-morgan.com Plant and lift bulbs the easyway – put them in a basket. Simply add soil to the 10in (25cm) plastic basket and place bulbs at the right distance on top. Dig out a planting hole at the correct depth and bury the whole thing. Makes lifting after flowering quick and easy. Multi-Trowel £4.95 0844 573 8400 unwins.co.uk With a calibrated depth guide for planting you’ll have bulbs in the ground in no time at all. This 5-in-1 stainless steel Darlac trowel has a comfy ergonomic rubber handle and can be used for numerous jobs, including lifting weeds with the forked end and cutting through roots with the saw edge. Bulb Markers £7.95 + £4.95 p&p 0114 233 8262…

“A dozen bonsai were growing on the ship’s bridge” TERRACOTTA bonsai pots have many uses beyond growing tiny trees. With their oval shape and glazed sides they are as big and bright as jewellery boxes, making attractive garden ornaments in their own right. I use the smallest 5x2in (12x6cm) size for planting species crocus, half-filling with compost and clustering the fleshy corms, cheek-by-jowl across the surface. A sprinkle more of multipurpose compost anchors the corms in place and, come spring, they bloom into fabulous displays of blue or yolky-yellow flowers. The best bit though is that these small and stable containers fit on the window ledge so even when it’s cold outside, the bright blooms are easily enjoyed from the comfort and warmth of the kitchen. Alpine gardeners also use…