By Will Barrow and Connie Ferr

Pricking Out

After seeds have germinated and started to grow they are pricked out to give them space to grow.. That is separated individually from other seedlings and replanted.

Thinning Out

This process takes weaker seedlings out to give others space and chance to grow.

Planting Out

When a seedling or plant has been grown indoors or in a greenhouse it can be planted out into the garden after it has been acclimatised. This acclimatisation is called hardening off.

Going Out

This is what gardeners have too little time to do except occasionally to the pub.

Hardening Off

Gradually introducing seedlings or plants to normal gardening conditions so they can get used to wind and temperature changes is called hardening off.

Hardy

Used to describe a plant that can stand our British weather conditions. So a plant that will live through our winter is said to be hardy as in hardy perennial or hardy geranium.

Hardwood

This is wood from a broad leaved deciduous tree such as oak, ash, maple, sycamore, walnut or often an imported wood such as mahogany.

Hardened Gardener

What we all become when pests have eaten our prized exhibits, fungal infection has infested our fruit trees and it has rained every day during our summer holiday that we chose to take in the garden.

Forcing

Encouraging a plant to grow or flower earlier than nature intended. Giving extra warmth and light are the usual methods but Rhubarb and chicory are forced by excluding light.

Propagation

Generally plants increase naturally through seed, bublets, layering or root growth. When a gardener gives nature a hand it is called propagation and when a scientist gives a hand it may be via tissue culture or micropropagation.

Heeling In

Occasionally trees or shrubs need a temporary home prior to being planted in their permanent position.  To ‘heel in’ dig an angled trench in the ground and lay the roots of your trees in the angled trench. Fill in the trench covering the tree roots with the dug out soil. Water generously and keep moist until you are ready to plant.

A century ago Sweet Violets were part of the Victorian way of life. Florists and street vendors sold them and ladies carried or wore them. Since ancient Greek times and through medieval times Sweet Violets were more than a flower or scent, they were used as a sweetener, a deodorant and medicinal uses. They were also a symbol of love used on St Valentines day and there are many Violet stories surrounding Napoleon and Josephine where the flowers are still popular in France.

Gardeners Tips For Growing Sweet Violets

Viola odorata is a perennial that spreads by runners and grows about 4″ high.
In the wild they grow in light woodland or under a hedge row in a humus rich soil.
The scented flowers are available in white as well as the deep violet.
The leaves are rounded, almost heart shaped.
Grow from seed or propagate from the stolens (runners)
Sweet Violets like a moist soil.
Feed them with a high potash feed or low nitrogen feed to optimise the flowers.

Other Links

Read about Growing Dogs Tooth Violets
For other fragrant and scented plants read Gardeners Tips
Look at the Violet Group on Flickr

Thompson & Morgan – Violet varieties available

Cosmos! What a stonking name for a plant evoking all the constellations in the Universe.

Growing Cosmos

• Cosmos flowers are a ring of broad petals and a center of disc florets similar to a daisy.
• Cosmos flowers are 2-4 inches in diameter.
• There is a lot of color variation including white, pink, orange, yellow, chocolate and scarlet colors.
• Most Cosmos bloom heavily but die with first frost.
• Leaves are fine and delicate and therefore the plants do not over shadow other flowers.
• Cosmos get quite tall at up to four feet but in rich, fertile soils tend to produce unusually tall, lanky plants.

More Growing Tips from Seed

• Smaller Cosmos are lovely in containers, showing off some of the finest lacy foliage of any annual.
• Sow 3mm deep in spring at 21-24C in a good seed compost. Keep soil damp but not wet, sealing in a polythene bag after sowing is helpful.
• Germination usually takes 5-10 days.
• When seedlings are large enough to handle, transplant and grow on in cooler conditions.
• Gradually acclimatise to outdoor conditions for 10-15 days before planting out after all risk of frost 60cm apart.
• Plant in a sunny spot on light even poor quality well drained soil.

Useful Links

BBC Gardeners World – Gardening site of BBC

Royal Horticultural Society

Thompson Morgan seed varieties available

See more tips and help on Help growing Cosmos or search in the box center right.

Every colour has its day and for blue that is often in Autumn. This is a selection of our blue to purple plants showing off during mid to late October.

There are not too many plants that form a blue leaf or needles in this case. Eventually this Firs young needles will turn green.
Some Hostas are said to have blue leaves or blue/green.

Michaelmas daisies are one of our favourites on Gardeners Tips as you may have noticed.

Blue is a tough colour to get right in the garden. Roses, Dahlia and Narcissus are renown for not having blue varieties. I have cheated with this hard Geranium that was in flower earlier in the year.

What is a Tree or Shrub

There are no hard and fast horticultural rules for these perennial plants. Trees are generally larger than shrubs and bushes.

• A tree is a woody plant that produces a single trunk and an elevated head of branches. Small trees are defined in the UK as 15-30 feet tall whilst large trees are over 60 feet tall.

• A shrub is a woody plant which branches from the base or near the ground with no obvious trunk hence the term shrubbery.  Large shrubs are over 10′ but less than 15′,  medium 6-10′, small 3-5′ and dwarf and prostrate under 2′.

• A bush is a shrub with stems of moderate length and is smaller or more compact than a shrub. Common parlance has currants, gooseberries and roses as bushes

• Cordons, Espalier, Pyramids and Fans are tree or shrub shapes created by training and pruning.Topiary is pruning and shaping to a shape of the gardeners chosing.

What is an Herbaceous Plant

This is a plant with soft (none woody) stems that dies back to soil level at the end of the year. Many are perennials growing again in following years.
Herbaceous borders are beds for growing your herbaceous plants but a mixed bed is most popular.

What is a Perennial

This is a plant that lives for more than two years given reasonably favourable conditions.

What is a Biennial

This is a plant, often a flower, that is sown one year and performs in the second year then expires.

What is an Annual

An annual is raised from seed, grows and dies in one year. A hardy annual can be sown outside in spring a half hardy annual needs a bit more warmth and protection and is sown indoors or later in the year.

What is the difference between Deciduous and Evergreen

Deciduous plants and trees loose there leaves each year and grow new leaves to replace them.
Evergreens, as the name implies, keep their leaves all year round. Most conifers (cone bearing trees and shrubs) are evergreen except Larch.

Categories of Hardiness

• Hardy plants are those capable of coping with temperatures as low as -15º C.
• Frost-hardy plants tolerate temperatures down to -5º C
• Half hardy plants should survive in temperatures above zero.
• Frost tender plants may be at risk below 5º C.

Hardiness Zones

• The USA is so large and covers many different climates that it relies on Hardiness zones for horticulture and gardening.
• These hardiness zones are geographically defined areas where temperature  will dictate what plant life is capable of growing.
• Zone 1 is -50º C,   Zone 8 equates to -7º C   and Zone  10 is zero.
• England is generally in zones 7 – 10 Scotland is cooler and Ireland warmer due to the warming effect of the gulf stream.

Plan Your Hardy Garden

• Frost will run or fall down slopes and collect in ‘frost pockets’. Be careful what plants you put at the bottom of slopes.
• Frost on young buds may not hurt but a rapid thaw caused by spring sunshine probably will. Camellias get frost burn and loose their buds if facing an easterly rising sun.
• Your garden will have a series of micro climates so map out those areas that are suitable for special plants.
• Allow your plants to acclimatise. Sudden drops in temperature can be more deadly than cold.
• Be aware of heat hardiness as some plants will not survive hot temperatures.
• Fertilizer hardiness is an issue not fully understood so watch out for sufferers.

Tactics of Hardy Plants

• Hardy herbaceous plants allow the foliage to totally die back in autumn. The roots remain viable under the soil and regrow in spring.
• Some hardy plants allow the stems and leaves to fall on the root crown to create a warming mulch until next spring.
• Sappy growth is a target for frost so hardy plants stop growing in summer allowing the twigs to toughen up. Do not feed plants with high nitrogen feed in late summer if you want them to remain hardy.
• Trees and shrubs take the sap back down into the plant and branches so that twigs are too dry to be damaged if they freeze.
• Plants will grow less well and be prone to winter injury if the soil is heavy, wet, of low pH or low fertility, or in general not suited to the plant.
• Some plants grow more sugars in summer to sustain them through cold winters.
• Thermal insulation from snow cover helps plants survive normally deadly winter temperatures

The Hardy Plant Society

• The Hardy Plant Society is a UK charity that was formed to foster interest in Hardy Plants.
• The Society informs and encourages the novice gardener.
• There are 40 regional groups so you can join one near you.
• They have specialist societies for Geraniums, Peony, Pulmonaria, Variegated plants and Ranunculaceae

Sources of further information

Jungle seeds address the ‘question asked by everyone with ambitions to grow hardy and semi hardy tropical plants in the UK’.

The British Fuchsia Society has an official list of fuchsia plants that are capable of being over wintered in the garden

Gardening is no Laughing matter, the joke is usually on the gardener

Naughty Gardeners Quips
There was a young man from Australia
on his bottom he painted a dahlia
the heat of the ball
caused the petals to fall
and the scent was a bit of a failure

What is long and thin, covered in skin,
red in parts and goes in tarts?
Rhubarb

‘I think the answer lies in the soil’ Arthur Fallowfield the man who put the sex in Sussex but left Scunthorpe alone.

Clean Gardeners (I don’t believe it)
What is the difference between bogies and broccoli? Kids wont eat broccoli
The snowman asked can you smell carrots?
Does okra come from Okrahoma
What is a vampire’s favorite fruit? A: A neck-tarine
What is orange and sounds like a parrot? a carrot

The older the better unless you are a banana
Are 2 banana skins a pair of slipper
What is green in the morning, yellow in the afternoon and brown in the evening? another banana

Going to the Flicks
Who framed roger raddish, 20,000 leeks under the sea, butch celery and the sunflower kid, the lawn ranger, Quatermass and the Pip, The magnificent five-a-day, Snowwhite and the 7 Dwarfbeans, Okrahoma, Rocky soil II,

• Roots grow below the soil to anchor and feed your plants.
• The root only grows longer at the tip. This is where root hairs develop.
• Root hairs take in water and nutrients through a permeable membrane.
• Root hairs are usually fragile and short lived but as one dies one or more grows in its place.
• Generally the root system thickens with age and anchors the plant as well as conveying nutrients to the stems and leaves.
• Active growth tissue called pholem and xylem carry nutients up the plant and sugars back to the roots after photosynthesis.

Water Logging the Roots

• Roots and root hairs need access to air to remain healthy.
• Excess watering can lead to compacted soil which can lead to wilting from an excess water rather than a shortage.
• If plants are kept in soil that is sodden they will die.
• Rescue from water logging will depend on getting the roots dried out and aerated but you may be better off taking cuttings or grafts if the roots are badly damaged.

OverFeeding

• Too much fertiliser can lead to a dangerous build up of salts. This excess fertiliser can leach water from the roots. This leads to wilting, damage and death. Flush out excess salts with clean water.
• Fertiliser applied at too high a dose can burn the delicate root hairs.
• Fertiliser containing too much nitrogen can make a plant soft and sappy. If in any doubt use a balanced fertiliser.
• As a rule, seedlings and young plants need less nutrients than more mature specimens. Take care not to over feed you can kill with kindness.

Root Damage

• Fibrous roots that are damaged can be pruned and hopefully they will regrow.
• Humus or peat around the roots can provide air and help hairs regrow and take in nutrients.
• New plants need to settle in before you restart feeding.
• Root damage to seedlings should be avoided by holding the leaves not the roots or stems. Do not push roots down into soil as it will shear off any hairs. Gently pull soil around the roots.
• Plants with long tap roots dislike being disturbed so bear this in mind when initially locating the plant.
• Damaged taproots can affect the plants stability as they provide crucial anchorage.
• Tubers, corms and bulbs can be damaged by grubs or critters. Prevention is the best care see vine weevils and Unwanted Garden Animals

Roots in Propagation

• Read more about  taking root cuttings.
• Grafting a new plant onto established and healthy root stock is a good way to increase the stock of a plant. Roses and apples are often grafted.
• Root vegetables like leeks, carrots and parsnips throw up a hard core to support the flowering stem prior to seeding. By this time the vegetable is past its best for eating.
• Corms, tubers and bulbs may split under ground to provide more plants. Some roots spread by stolen (underground tendrils)

Root Diseases

• Honey Fungus has black  bootlace like  threads growing on the roots and clumps of honey coloured toadstools. It can quickly kill a tree or give it  a slow lingering death. Dig out and burn infected plants there is no chemical cure.  Honey fungus attacks trees and shrubs including Box, Chestnut,  Fir and Holly.
• Root rots include Phytophtora water mould where a blackish ooze comes out of the trunk at soil level.
• Butt rot is a dark red fungus at ground level with fine white filaments penetrating the trunk and is most common in conifers.
• Fomes root rot is caused by the pathogenic wood‐rotting bacteria in  pine plantations.
• Crown Gall is a bacterial disease that enters a shrub via  a wound. White galls form on top of the roots, turn black and block the circulation of sap leading to death. Euonymus, Rhododendrons and Currants are susceptible.  Avoid by improving soil drainage and feeding with high phosphate and potash feed.
• In many cases a healthy plant can outgrow an infection, and the grower won’t even notice that a pathogen is active.
• Rose replant sickness is not primarily a root disease but a problem of reestablishment in old soil.

Other Root and Care Issues

• Suckers grow on roots often on plants that have been grafted. The original root stock is trying to revert to type and if left will take over. Remove suckers where they join the main root by pulling rather than cutting them off or they may regrow.
• Roots can become pot bound in containers. Avoid buying plants where the roots have filled the pots and are going round and round or forcing there way out of the bottom of a pot.
• Aerial roots grow above ground and take moisture from the air for example on some orchids. They are good roots and should not be removed.
• Adventitious roots develop on stems to help climbers cling to support. Ivy and Hydrangea petiolaris use these roots which provide no nutritional value.
• Roots of aquatic plants, perforce live in water and do not have the same hairy structure of other roots.
• Forked roots on crops grown as root vegetables like Carrots and Parsnips are caused by soil conditions. Remove stones and dig deeply and evenly as even an excess of manure in one spot may create a fork.

Gardening is not lesson time but fun time even if you do the growing at school.

Quick Result Seeds

• Sprouting seeds that grow in a jar without any soil.
• Mustard and cress a salad crop you can grow on a wet facecloth or old sponge.
• Annual seeds flower for just one year. They can be bought in mixtures containing lots of different plant seeds.
• Pot marigolds also called Calendula have big seeds,  bright yellow or orange flowers and flower the same year they are planted.
• Sunflowers are ever popular link
• Annual seeds from Thompson & Morgan

More about the Scheme

• Waitrose, Marshalls, Dorset Cereals and the RHS are promoting a Campaign for School Gardening. The aim is to provide pupils with hands-on learning opportunities in school grounds to grow plants and garden sustainably.

• Get your school growing website can lead to lots of offers and support.

• RHS tips for teachers in February

• • As the ground starts to dry out and warm up you can start getting the ground ready for sowing and planting in spring. Dig in compost or well-rotted manure where you plan to sow chard in April.
  • In milder areas you could start to sow early peas outdoors, especially if you can protect them with cloches or fleece. Otherwise start them off in pots and keep them in the greenhouse, or a well-lit windowsill. You can do the same with lettuce.
  • Start early seed potatoes into growth by putting them somewhere warm. Stand them up so the end with most eyes, called the rose end, is uppermost. Egg boxes are ideal for this. Good light is not essential but helps produces sturdier shoots
  • Harvest chard, leeks, salad leaves and winter radish. Make a delicious and healthy salad from sliced winter radish and orange segments on a bed of salad leaves. Peel the radishes if you want to make them less peppery.
  • Sow sweet peas in pots and put them in an unheated greenhouse or cold frame.
  • Pot up begonia and dahlia tubers and put in a frost-free greenhouse or well-lit room to encourage early growth. New shoots can be used as cuttings

This plant I christened Brown Beard although it may have a registered name, breeders rights or even a plant patent.

It can be fun to select plants because of their name. It may be a persons name or a special event or commemoration that strikes a cord. Gardening should be fun, it is not a competition to see who can remember the most Latin names.

Lily, Rose, Daphne and similar names are easy to match to people (as Daisy and buttercup could be to cows).
When it comes to existing named varieties the Sweet peas and Roses take the bouquet. They have traditionally been named after people usually relatives of the breeder.

Roses are available to celebrate various anniversaries Silver Jubilee and Silver Anniversary and Diamond Celebration. Others varieties include Birthday Boy and Birthday Wishes whilst Ruby Weddings are catered for by Leptospernum scoparium and Rhododendron Golden Wedding is quite a favourite.

Sorry this picture is only named for my pet bird a Canary