Innholdsfortegnelse for 2-Oct-2021 i Amateur Gardening

“Judging from last week’s letters about the poor quality of peat-free compost and lack of guidance on packaging, it is clear that AG readers are not confident in the quality or usage of the current peat alternatives. We went back to producers and the trade to get their response; you can read more on page 6. Perhaps the most extraordinary comment came from a trade representative, who felt there may not be enough room on the bags to print the guidance we are asking for. Really?! It’s not a packet of crisps, it’s a huge bag of compost! We need more guidance from every producer — I’m sure they can find the space to write it if they try.”…

Got a story? email ruth.hayes@futurenet.com LAST year UK horticulture used a whopping 2.3million cubic metres of peat (down from 2.8million in 2011), according to the Horticultural Trades Association, so there’s still a way to go. Achieving success when you go peatfree can require different watering and feeding regimes. A common challenge is working out when plants in peat-free compost need water, because it tends to dry out towards the top of pots, whereas peat dries uniformly throughout. PEAT FREE UPDATE Less water-retentive At peat-free supplier SylvaGrow, technical director Catherine Dawson said: “Most peat-frees probably hold slightly less water at full capacity than peat composts.” She advised: “Take a pot of peat-free compost and sit it in a bucket of water for an hour. Take it out, let it drain and…

THERE is a well-worn and ancient joke that goes ‘What’s even worse than biting into an apple and discovering a maggot?’ The answer, of course, is ‘Half a maggot’, and early autumn is the time to be taking steps to ensure that fate doesn’t befall you next summer I found a little pink grub surrounded by lots of mess, or frass, in a greengage that I mercifully cut in half before eating. This was a larvae of a plum moth and these are prevented in May by setting pheromone traps around your trees. But there are several other moths, including the winter, burnt umber and March moth, that lay their eggs between November and May. The wingless females crawl up the trunks to lay their eggs on the branches, and…

IF you crave the plumpest garlic cloves, autumn planting is a must. Here’s how to guarantee the most glorious of garlic gluts. Often first-time garlic growers can feel a bit disappointed with the size of homegrown cloves. Spring plantings don’t have as much time in the ground to bulk up, so if you can graduate to starting crops off in autumn, you’ll have a better chance of creating decent bulbs. The extra growing time encourages a more extensive root system to form, which in turn gives more foliage to fuel large heads. “The extra growing time encourages more roots” There are two types of garlic: softneck and hardneck. Even though hardnecks are generally hardier, you can plant both varieties in autumn (see my tips on the following page), depending on…

In this extract from AG 2 May 1957, Christopher Lloyd, of Great Dixter fame, looks at fragrant plants in the citrus family 137 years of practical advice 1884 The World’s Oldest Gardening Magazine 2021 A WHIFF of orange blossom scent caught while passing a grove is a pleasure not quickly forgotten, yet scarcely to be found within 1,000 miles of our own homes. There are, however, in the citrus family a number of high-ranking hardy plants, all of them notable for their fragrance, either of flower or foliage or both. Most closely related to the orange is Poncirus trifoliata [Citrus trifoliata], one of the most heavily armoured shrubs. Indeed, it consists almost wholly of great green thorns, curved like vicious beaks and inches long. If plants were available in sufficient quantities,…

This word search comprises words associated with gardening and space. They are listed below, and in the grid they may be read across, backwards, up, down or diagonally. Letters may be shared between words. Erroneous or duplicate words may appear in the grid, but there is only one correct solution. After the listed words are found, there are 11 letters remaining; arrange these to make this week’s KEYWORD. WORLD SPACE WEEK ASTER ASTRONAUT COMET COSMOS DAYLILIES HONESTY HOSTA METEORITE MOON NASA PLANET SKYROCKET STARS HOW TO ENTER: Enter this week’s keyword on the entry form, and send it to AG Word Search 589, Amateur Gardening, Future Publishing Limited, Unit 415, Winnersh Triangle, Eskdale Road, Winnersh, RG41 5TP, to arrive by Wednesday 13 October 2021. The first correct entry chosen at…

THE season of ‘mists and mellow fruitfulness’ will soon be upon us, with all its glorious colours of leaves and fruits. As it passes, it will leave a covering of leaves that need clearing away to use as leafmould or to compost for enriching the soil next year. If you leave the leaves where they fall, you risk having a soggy mess over the winter that smothers plant life beneath it and encourages slugs and the growth of fungi. On paths and patios, leaves can quickly turn into a slip hazard and on the lawn they will kill the grass in patches. Making life easier Raking up leaves by hand is good exercise, and there are many rakes for this purpose, but it can be hard work if your garden…

THE 1986 Salmon Act states – as if you didn’t know – that anyone ‘handling salmon [or fish] in suspicious circumstances’ will be punished. That’s why you shouldn’t loiter outside a bank or betting shop to eat a salmon sandwich – just in case. Some rules, though, are made to be broken, and this week I’ve been in flagrant disregard of the conventions of dahlia cultivation. After a summer of searching, I’ve finally tracked down one of my all-time favourite varieties, Dahlia ‘Magenta Star’. With deep-pink petals suffused with silver, the flowers glow like Orion’s Belt in a clear and moonless sky, and being a single, they’re a magnet for bees that harvest pollen from the fluffy buttons of golden stamens. By all rights, ‘Magenta Star’ would be a bestseller…

AS temperatures drop further it is time to move some of your tender perennials into the relative snugness of a greenhouse or cool porch. Even here in the balmy south of the UK, pelargoniums, gazanias, fuchsias and agapanthus are all at risk of succumbing to winter’s chill so start making room for them in the greenhouse and taking cuttings to grow through winter in case any of the parent plants don’t make it through. I wrap pots of fuchsias in fleece and move them to the greenhouse, leaving the plants alone until spring, when I will hard prune and re-pot them. Our potted deciduous agapanthus are similarly swaddled, then laid on their side somewhere sheltered outside to avoid the compost becoming waterlogged during heavy rain. Waterlogged compost drives out the…

THE garden trade has responded after AG asked if clearer guidance should be printed on compost packaging to explain how peat-free can behave differently to peat (AG, 28 August). The GMA’s Neil Bragg said it’s often down to lack of space on bags of compost – a problem that could become worse if the government adopts new EU fertiliser regulations in 2022 that would require more small print on compost packaging. Improving labelling won’t happen overnight, because suppliers have already ordered packaging for 2022. SylvaGrow’s Catherine Dawson said detailed advice is printed on compost packaging and is available via their website, but added: “We have made our compost similar to peat in terms of ease of use. However, the editor [of AG] is right – what we don’t say is…

THERE are people in the world of horticulture whose knowledge of plants, their enthusiasm for specific groups, experience cultivating perfect specimens and abilities breeding improved cultivars just leave me in awe. A perfect example is Raymond Evison whose love of clematis and all he has done with them has no equal to my mind. Raymond was a junior partner to the late John Treasure of Treasures of Tenbury Wells, and friend to the late Christopher Lloyd in the 1970s. Early in the 1980s, after a -26ºC frost decimated much of the nursery stock at Treasures and killed 80,000 container-grown clematis, Raymond upped sticks and bought an empty one-acre Guernsey glasshouse (they call them vineries there because of grape growing in Queen Victoria’s time). “20% of clematis propagated come from his…

YOU cannot have too much garden compost. You dig compost in to improve texture, nutrition and water-holding capacity, spread it thick on top as a mulch, and it can seriously economise on bought-in potting and sowing composts (fill the bottom three quarters with sieved garden compost and top off with the bought-in material). Of course, you must make good compost, and at first some find this difficult. Most often, their problem is slow rotting instead of hot composting. First, small bins seldom ‘cook’ well, as too much heat is lost because of their large surface and small volume. Bigger is always better. Second, most bins only accumulate slowly so do not ‘catch’. Third, the contents may be either too wet or too dry. Fourth, folk worry about what can go…

Heuchera ‘Purple Petticoats’ AGM There’s a huge variety of colours to choose from and most are evergreen providing interest all year round. This cultivar has dark purple leaves with frilly edges. They are low maintenance and excellent for groundcover, making them a good choice for underplanting. Flowers July-August. H&S: 18in (45cm). Blechnum spicant AGM Evergreen ferns can be used for filling gaps among other plants in containers, providing contrast and texture when combined with late-flowering perennials or colourful shrubs. This fern likes a spot in partial shade. HxS: 20x18in (50x45cm). Ajuga reptans ‘Atropurpurea’ Although this groundcover plant doesn’t flower until the spring, it forms an evergreen mat below other taller plants, with striking bronze foliage. Then you’ll have the bonus of the spires of blue flowers in April. Flowers April-June.…

Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’ AGM A clump-forming perennial grass with arching, narrow leaves and bottlebrush-like silvery flowers with a hint of purple, which provides wafty texture alongside chunky hylotelephiums. It will need winter protection in cold gardens. HxS: 39x27in (1mx70cm). Persicaria affinis ‘Darjeeling Red’ AGM This lovely low-growing herbaceous perennial makes a carpet of bright-green leaves above which short spires of densely packed pink flowers are held. In autumn the leaves turn russet-brown and the flowers become red. HxS: 20in (50cm). Sanguisorba ‘Tanna’ AGM This late-flowering perennial produces masses of deep ruby-red bobble flowers on wiry stems above a hummock of dark-green, serrated foliage. It goes particularly well with dark-leaved hylotelephiums. H&S: 20in (50cm). Anemanthele lessoniana AGM An elegant grass that has slender olive-green leaves that develop hints of orange and…

Write to us: Letters, Amateur Gardening magazine, Future Publishing Limited, Unit 415, Winnersh Triangle, Eskdale Road, Winnersh, RG41 5TP (please include your address). Email us: amateurgardening@futurenet.com NOT sure if this of any interest, but this is me rocking my bag lady look with my little gardening buddy. The picture was taken to get an idea of how tall the sunflower is. I’m 5ft 5in in old money. The seeds were free with AG. I started them off in a pot and then transplanted them into the border. ‘Border’ is a bit of an exaggeration when your gardening buddy doesn’t like where you’ve put your plants and gently removes them – or the favourite trick is burying treats. The five squirrels who visit don’t help much, either. The soil in the…

Autumn lawns: Summer and winter can be tough on lawns, so in next week’s AG I show you how to give yours an autumn overhaul. NOT all tender plants growing in borders need to be lifted for winter – indeed, you may not be able to do so if they have grown too large. Evergreen agapanthus, which are generally less hardy than deciduous varieties, can be protected in borders with a thick mulch of straw, chippings, well rotted organic matter or Strulch (an enriching, straw-based mulch) over their root area. Dahlias and cannas are left in the soil until their leaves are blackened by the first frosts. If your garden is very sheltered you can leave dahlias in the soil through winter. Generously mulch over the tuber and root area…

WRITING this on one of those gloriously golden and wistful early September mornings, in the middle of a blue-sky Indian summer, it is hard to think about preparations for the winter months. But by October, the weather will have started to drop hints about the winter ahead, so make time now to weatherproof your garden as much as possible. Check your greenhouse and make sure it is secure and in good order, with panes firmly in place. Remove and replace cracked ones and check the framework is sound. Ensure gutters and drainage channels running to drains and soakaways from your patio are clear of debris and dead leaves to avoid flooding. If areas of the lawn are prone to waterlogging, aerate them with a garden fork and lay a simple…

THIS week’s free seeds are for a wonderful variety of poppy that I grew this year and will definitely be sowing again for 2022. ‘American Legion’ is a tall and sturdilystemmed plant that produces large, papery red flowers with a distinctive white cross at their centre They are a stunning focal point in the border and the bees love them. Best of all, they are incredibly easy to sow, either now or in spring, or at both times, which will give you a longer flowering season as the plants mature in two swathes. Because they are hardy annuals they need little care, and should happily see out winter in the soil before germinating and growing next spring. Clear the sowing area of weeds and debris, and then rake it to…

IN late summer, I spent a very happy teatime listening to birdsong in a floriferous Cotswold meadow, while swallows circled overhead. I was there for a talk by Ed Ikin, deputy director of Wakehurst Place. This 500-acre site in the High Weald of West Sussex has been Kew’s wild botanic garden for more than 50 years. There are formal gardens with important plant collections, and Wakehurst is home to the Millennium Seed Bank. Should Armageddon strike, the back-up generators in the seed bank can keep going for a whole two weeks! Ed described Wakehurst’s medieval landscape as ‘part acidic sand and loam.’ There are red-sandstone cliffs and lots of protruding rocks, and these provide extra humidity, so it’s a fantastic place for ferns. There is one rarity called the Tunbridge…

While John sometimes advocates using chemicals against pests and diseases as the most effective means of control, organic options are sometimes available and we advise readers to go with their preferences Contact John Negus by email address below Email: amateurgardening@futurenet.com John will reply personally to all your gardening questions every week John has been answering reader queries for 50 years How should I overwinter my Hedychium? QI have a ginger lily in a pot on the patio. This is the first year I’ve had it and it flowered once a couple of months ago. It’s looking quite healthy but how do I care for it over winter? Sheila Blackmore (via email) A Ginger Lily (the Latin name is Hedychium) dies down in late autumn or early winter, over-wintering by its tuberous…

This week it’s: IN 1999, the United Nations declared that World Space Week should be held each year, from 4-10 October. It is an annual international celebration of space science and technology ‘to the betterment of the human condition.’ When men walked on the moon, I was an enthralled little boy, and since then I’ve been a very amateur fan of astronomy and space flight. But, of course, I’m a gardener first and foremost, so I could not pass up the opportunity this week to celebrate my two favourite subjects. So, let’s take a look at how some plants are connected to space. ■ World Space Week has a different theme each year, and for 2021 it is ‘Women in Space’. The wonderful cosmos IF the cosmos (the universe) is…

Q Having downsized, I now have to grow my veg in pots and I’m finding it trickier than expected. Last year I planted several shallot bulbs in a pot 12in (30cm) across. After the leaves died in summer I lifted my crop, the bulbs were rotten or small. Where am I going wrong? Judith Ponting, Glasgow A Growing produce in containers can be productive and fun, but shallots are moderately challenging. The aim with autumn-planted bulbs of onions, garlic and shallots is to persuade a good root system and a sprouting of leaves before Christmas, ready for growth in spring. Even good-quality compost can be compacted by heavy rain, causing poor drainage and root death, with nutrients being washed away. To succeed, shallots need maximum sunshine and from spring, regular…