Innholdsfortegnelse for 20-May-2023 i Amateur Gardening

“Dammed if you do and dammed if you don’t. Such is the bane of trying to navigate our way through diametrically opposed views with the aim of impartiality. I refer to the different viewpoints in Letters this week. One asks AG to take a leading stance in favour of the peat ban. Another wants AG to fight the ban. Most gardeners prefer to avoid politics, as gardening takes us away from the worries of the world, but airing our views is important, too, and I welcome that. AG is doing its ‘bit’ by trialling compost without peat. We all want to grow plants in the most environmentally beneficial way, but that planting needs to be successful, otherwise we won’t create an environment that is beneficial to wildlife. The anti-peat people…

OUR plants should be growing well and we should be full of optimism for the gardening year ahead, but this is no time for complacency. Diseases can swiftly appear and spread and time spent now making sure plants are healthy, is time not wasted. We have a climbing rose that was affected by rose black spot last year. In autumn I cut away and disposed of infected growth, binned fallen leaves affected by the disease, and mulched the rose to bury any remaining spores before disinfecting my secateurs. But it is back this year, so I have started treatment again, removing the worst eaves and spraying with fungicide, which will need re-applying several times throughout the season. Because most plant diseases are airborne or carried in by insects, it is…

WHILE I’m a huge fan of cheery golden sunflowers I also love the wide variety of differently-coloured varieties that are increasingly available. This week’s free seeds are a case in point. Sunflower ‘Sunburst Mixed’ come in a range of colours, from traditional yellow to yellow flecked with orange or red and even an apricot flower. They grow to a stately 6ft (1.8m), making them perfect for sowing in the middle or at the back of borders. They are hardy annuals and can be sown in place now, germinating in 2-3 weeks. If you live in the north or have an exposed garden, it may still be worth starting the seeds in pots of multipurpose compost, then hardening off the seedlings and planting them out in a few weeks’ time when…

This week it’s: National Asparagus Month We look at one of the delicacies of the culinary world IT’S funny how you remember little things. For example, I distinctly remember the first time I tasted asparagus. I was about eight or nine years old, and my mother served up this long, green and (to me) slimy thing, with a pointed end. I was dubious about eating it but, being one to always try something, I started by nibbling the tip of one spear, and wow! I loved it. I gorged the rest of it down, and wanted more. This was well over 50 years ago, and I can still remember it clearly. I’ve loved asparagus ever since, as there is no other taste like it. May is National Asparagus Month, and…

SHEARS are seldom the first tool you buy for a new garden, but when you need them, you need them. They are the alternative to a powered hedge trimmer and, while that option might look easier, it is much less dexterous for fiddly work or topiary. Ideal for small hedges Hedge shears, which resemble a giant pair of scissors, have been around for a long time and the design has changed very little. They are ideal for smaller hedges, trimming topiary, clipping shrubs and even trimming small lawns or taking grass flowerheads off in the lawn when the mower misses them. Type variations Some models are labelled as ‘topiary and hedging shears’ so the product you choose needs to suit your garden and the intended use. The more fiddly the…

Moving on: In answer to reader query, next week I show you how to tell when seedlings are ready to pot on, and how to do it without damaging them THERE is always something happening in our greenhouse. Whether it’s tender plants sitting out the coldest months wrapped in fleece, summer tubers starting to sprout in early spring, cuttings and seedlings a few weeks later and then the luxuriant foliage and fruits of tomatoes, cucumbers and aubergines jostling for space through the summer, there always seems to be something to grow and tend. We are now on the cusp of summer and the greenhouse is full of seedlings and pots of ranunculus that need hardening off, shooting dahlia and canna tubers that will soon be planted out and pots of…

THE RHS Chelsea Flower Show takes place next week which means it’s also the start of the season of the Chelsea Chop. This is an easy way of keeping summer perennials neat and encouraging them to flower for longer, throughout summer and into the autumn. It is especially useful on plants with a tendency to sprawl and flop over their neighbours, such as nepeta (cat mint) and sedums. By shortening their stems by around a third you can delay flowering and create a more compact plant with a greater number of blooms, though they are likely to be smaller than the originals. If this feels too drastic, try removing stems a few at a time so the plant produces flowers consistently at different periods through summer. As well as nepeta…

Contact John Negus by email address below Email: amateurgardening@futurenet.com What has taken our crinodendron buds? Q This year our crinodendron had several dozen buds and I was anticipating an impressive display. When a frost was forecast a few weeks ago I covered the shrub with fleece and the buds survived, but they have now vanished and the leaves are turning brown. What has happened? Gill Chant (via email) A There are two probable causes for buds dropping: exposure of frosted buds to early morning sun, and drought. If your shrub is facing east, frozen buds warm up quickly and cells are liable to rupture. As for buds disappearing, animals may be devouring them. If that is a probability, dose your bush with Grazers Rabbits, Pigeons and Deer, which makes foliage…

THOSE who are arguing for the peat ban should read the Glendoick Gardens Peat Policy ( glendoick.com/Peat) written by Ken Cox, a very unbiased and honest response to this very contentious issue. If they did research it, they would I feel sure, have a very different view on the subject. Peat does not need to be used as a soil conditioner; it only needs to be in seed, potting and ericaceous composts and then in the minimum amount to create very good germination and root formation. TV gardeners often mention that they use their own compost but never say what they add to it, (not everyone has composting facilities). Gardeners just want to grow plants to the best of their ability with the best materials on the market and get…

I NEED to plant out some of my hardened off seedlings because I’m running out of space in the greenhouse and mini greenhouse. I’m starting with some verbascum seedlings that were given away with AG in January. The seedlings have grown really well and I want to plant them with some nicotiana seedlings, also given away with AG, to create a block of bold colour and height in a sunny border. The plants were sown into seed compost and then the seedlings were potted on into multipurpose compost when they were large enough. I have hardened them off in the greenhouse and mini greenhouse and they are large enough to plant out. I stood the modules in water before planting to give the roots a drink and planted them at…

GARDENING is rather like swings and roundabouts, because every year is different. You get a bumper crop of carrots one year, followed by a crop failure the next. You struggle with a glut of tomatoes in August, only to fail the following year. Our erratic weather, caused by climate change, is making growing crops harder than ever. And the topsy-turvy winter we’ve just had didn’t help. We seemed to get our winter in March this year: it was dull, wet and cold. It was definitely a case of Almost Spring Cottage, Cold Cold Aston. I left my seed sowing to the end of March this year, but germination proved to be slow even though I use heated propagators. These propagators do help, but the seeds still seem to sense that…

◼ This extract from AG 5 July 1975 is the ninth of a 12-part series on how to propagate a wide selection of indoor and outdoor plants. Note: peat will often be mentioned in these articles, and while many new peat-free alternatives are available, peat composts are still on sale for those who choose not to use peat-free. If using peat-free, please note that details of watering and nutrients will vary. IT is worth collecting seed of any true species plants in your garden because species come true to type from seed – the offspring will resemble their parents in every respect. It is not usual for gardeners to save seed of highly bred plants – hybrids, varieties and strains – as these do not come true to type from…

DID you know that the umbrella was invented in China 3,500 years ago? No, I didn’t, either – but what a sure-fire conversation-starter should you get stuck in a crowded lift! Umbrellas have also given their name to a colourful clan of flowers known as umbels, which explode into domes of colour through spring and summer. Like living parasols, their unique shape adds an extra layer of interest above or between the roses and sprawling cranesbills. That’s one of the reasons they’re always in the Show Gardens at Chelsea – the other is that they possess a naturalistic hedgerow charm. Like taking off a tie or loosening a collar, they are the flower for giving a garden a relaxed and informal feel. Among the finest for sun/part day shade is…