Get Christmas Cactus Ready to Flower

Get Christmas Cactus Ready to Flower

 ‘A Cactus is not just for Christmas’

Christmas Cactus are succulent  cultivars of Schlumbergera.

Tips For Growing Christmas Cactus

  • As the name suggests in the Northern hemisphere and the UK these plants normally flower between November and February
  • Flower buds are stimulated by shortened day length and need 12 hours  uninterrupted darkness from late summer through autumn.
  • To encourage Christmas flowering, from September, they need 8-10 hours of daily sunshine (don’t we all). A bright windowsill will suffice but cover in darkness the rest of the day.
  • Postion plants to avoid domestic lighting or cover every night with blackout material.
  • Keep temperature below 18c but above 10c
  • Fluctuating temperatures can cause the buds to fall but so can over watering

Christmas Cactus Varieties

  • Schlumbergera x buckleyi  have fleshy stems not leaves.
  • Stems are divided into flattened leaf-like segments with scalloped margins  and they can grow quite long and droop over the edge of a pot.
  • Schlumbergera x bridgesii another Christmas Cactus  do not have spines like many cactus
  • Easter cactus, also known as a spring cactus are not members of the Schlumbergera family. They look similar, bloom in spring but are Rhipsalidopsis gaetneri or Hatiora gaetneri plants.
Oenothera biennis Our Evening Primrose

Oenothera biennis Our Evening Primrose

The Evening Primrose is one of my favourite, limeish yellow, summer, biennial flowers. 2024 is becoming a spectacular year for my plants growing in a wall.

Evening Primrose Oenothera glazioviana

Evening Primrose Growing

  • These plants are capable of seeding profusely
  • The large-flowered evening-primrose Oenothera glazioviana is one of 4 common UK species
  • There are another dozen species and many hybrids and crosses.
  • Evening primrose  flower from June to September. and seeds are produced in mid-August
  • There is a fragrant evening-primrose Oenothera stricta.

Evening Primrose Medical Benefits

The plant is common and popular in the USA and its roots are eaten and used for various purposes. Gardeners Path say it can ‘help a number of conditions including eczema, rheumatoid arthritis, premenstrual syndrome, and osteoporosis  and oil of Evening primrose can be used  to regulate blood pressure and to keep the immune system functioning’.

Gardening with Hellebores

Gardening with Hellebores

Pink & White Hellebore

Hellebores are generally very accommodating plants flowering early in spring and living happily in shade. Avoid Helleborus foetidus the stinking hellebore or setterwort.  If you want coloured rose like flowers with shapely green leaves try  growing them in a dedicated green bed.

As this graphic shows there are a growing number of hybrids offering a range of colours.
See our tips on Growing Helebores

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Late Flowering Oriental Lilies

Late Flowering Oriental Lilies

Blazing saddles had nothing on this years blazing Lilies in pots and beds. My current go- too is the oriental ‘Black Beauty’
Lily

Oriental Lilies are native to China and Japan and are a later flowering variety of Lily. Oriental Lilies tend to produce large, showy and fragrant flowers. They vary in size from 1 foot dwarves to 7 feet giants. The smaller varieties make good pot plants.

Oriental Lily Facts

  • With a spicy and sweet fragrance, oriental lilies are late bloomers  in August / September.
  • They bear 6+ open faced flowers with spotted, brushed or dark shaded petals.
  • Varieties of oriental Lilies include crimson Black Beauty, pure white Casa Blanca, dark pink Journeys End, pink Le Reve,  rose red Stargazer whilst Acapulco produces dark pink flowers.
  • Lily flowers can be stored by florists for 4 to 6 weeks after harvesting. They have a vase life of 7 to 14 days if harvested at the right stage and given the proper treatment. This makes them an excellent choice for fresh flower arrangements and popular wedding bouquet flowers.
  • These Lilies prefer slightly acidic soil and dislike alkaline soil. New lime tolerant hybrids now include Orienpets like Black Beauty.

Lily …

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Cistus maculatus with spots on

Cistus maculatus with spots on

‘Twin flowers’

Cistus produce abundant flowers when grown in a hot dry garden but are more at home growing wild in Crete or Cyprus

Cistus maculata

The Latin part of a plant name often gives a hint about the attributes of a plant or flower.

Maculatus or maculata means spotted in leaf, bark or this case flower. It also means spotted in the insect world.

Look out for other obvious hints like odorata and fragrans which will be scented . Alba means white whilst nigrescens will be black. The spellings may differ and it isn’t a fool proof method of plant selection but it may help.

Cistus are known to cross pollinate with Halimum with are smaller similar plants that grown in the same conditions

A national collection and authority on the species is Bob Page.   see Cistaceae family. http://www.cistuspage.org.uk/

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Growing Primrose

Growing Primrose

Primrose (Primula Vulgaris) is a native wildflower of the UK. It suitable conditions it can be found in woodland and hedgerows. In the garden there are many cultivate types of Primrose. They have brighter and more showy flowers, though for purity and simplicity, it is hard to beat the natural primula. In 2024 I am getting a second crop of flowers from plants I thought were well over. I potted them up to move to a new site but they have loved the wet conditions and in July are looking great again.

In Latin Primula means literally ‘first rose’. It is highly valued as one of early spring flowering perennials.

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A Trio of Purple Leaves

A Trio of Purple Leaves

It is hard to ignore plants with leaves as stunning as these in a Parks garden. The purple is from one of the Sumachs or Rhus family. Selecting plants that contrast in colour shape or form is part of the skill of gardening but starting with plants like these is a good beginning.

Purple is one of my favourite leaf colours of the moment and the Lamium below is called Perilla fructenscens. I am putting several plants in one area of my garden and will see how well they get on with one another.

This Heuchera below surprised me growing in a wall cleft with thin soil. I do not remember planting it in what I thought would be a hostile location. It must have been self sown but I have not got any other plants except the parent.

Heuchera Facts and Varieties

Heuchera Facts and Varieties

I am hoping for some coloured Heucheras for Fathers day later this year – well hope is free!

Uses of Heuchera

  • Heuchera are commonly used as specimen plants or in small groups of the same variety.
  • They are at home in woodland gardens, rock gardens or as groundcover.
  • Heuchera are useful in patio pots or as components in mixed containers. They are often used at this time of year for winter containers
  • Flower panicles make fine additions to cut flower arrangements.
  • Heuchera attracts butterflies.
  • Heuchera consists of over 50 species and there are many new varieties so you could make a study and collection of these interesting plants.

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Kew a Year of Visits

Kew a Year of Visits

Book Cover

Six DVD’s in a boxed set ‘A Year at Kew – The Collection’ (Series 1-3) with Alan Titchmarsh is available from Amazon  in time for a Christmas gift. Over 1000 minutes of gardening in a month-by-month journey via the BBC through the world’s greatest botanical garden.

I enjoyed a winter perusal of the BBC Book that accompanied the series. With monthly highlights and in sights into the inner workings of various specialist department there is enough to encourage return visits.

Kew 066

Rather than punt the book for the negligible commission we get if you buy after clicking the cover or link above I will just post some seasonally coloured photos of plants taken at Kew.

Kew 200

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Roses with Single Petals

Roses with Single Petals

dog-2

My book de Jour is ‘Fifty Favourite Roses’ Michael Gibson. A second reading has given me some new insights and some varieties to look out for: 5 petalled Tea Roses Dainty Bess,  Mrs Oakley Fisher (golden) and Ellen Willmott (white) rugarosa Robusta and colour changing Mutabilis

Above is a true red rose that also flowers very early on a robust plant 5 feet tall.

canary-bird

Now a more commonly available single rose this Rosa ‘Canary Bird’  is a tall growing very floriferous lemon- yellow rose with good foliage.

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