Gardeners Tips – Page 169 – Tips and advice for gardeners about gardening

Wild Orchids in Britain

February 4, 2013 hortoris

There are a surprising number of Orchid species that grow wild in Britain. Because they are so special they should be left in the wild and only purchased from credible suppliers who cultivate their own stock.

The Lady Orchid Orchis purpurea grows up to 2’6″ and the purple speckled flowers on a robust spike make this one of the most popular Wild Orchids in Britain. It flowers in early May in scrub or woodland.

Helloborine Large White is found in Beech woods with chalky soil. It flowers 12-18 inches high in early June. The Narrow Leaved Helleborine is more wide spread especially in shady chalky areas. The Broad Leaved Helloborine grows up to 3 feet high and flowers red or pinkÂ in August. The Marsh Heleborine prefers to grow in alkaline marsh land but in the open it collonises some older sand dunes.
…

Read More Read More

Stellar Pelargonium – Bird Dancer Geranium

February 3, 2013 hortoris

These special zonal pelargoniums are often mistakenly called geraniums. The Stellars have star shaped flowers that give the cultivars their name. The petals are not as full as other zonals but the leaf markings are quite striking. There is a lot of bud at the moment and they are massing in the garden quite well.

As with other geraniums they like a free draining soil but are not troubled with pests (famous last words).

The zonal leaf marking became more apparent when the plants were put outside from the greenhouse.

Plants are easy to propagate from now all through summer and autumn. Just keep the plants on the dry side and frost free in winter. Plants last several years but are more robust and floriferous from new stock. Seed can be sown in warmth from February or raised from plug plants.

The flowers repay close attention and can be inspected on the geranium flower web site

Growing Cistus Rock Rose

February 2, 2013 tejvan

rock rose

Cistus or Rock Rose are evergreen and provide a blast of colour in early summer. The flowers of rock rose are short lived, but, a healthy plant can provide a multitude of new flowers every day throughout high summer.

Growing Requirements for Cistus

Well Drained soil. Rock roses are susceptible to root rot. If necessary add grit or sand to the base.
Full Sun (Rock roses originate from the Mediterranean.
Poor to moderately fertile soil. It is not necessary to feed rock roses, in fact, they can give better performances in average soil. Over fertilising them will encourage lush green growth at the expense of flowers. The new growth may be more susceptible to winter frosts

Optional requirements

Dead head after flowering (although this will be a lot of work and isn’t essential for a long display)

Pinch out growing stems after flowering to encourage bushy growth

Easy to propagate from cuttings

A national collection and authority on the species is Bob Page who gives talks on his passion for the Cistaceae family. http://www.cistuspage.org.uk/

F1 Seeds and Hybrids

January 31, 2013 hortoris

What is F 1 Seed

F1 seeds are the result of crossing two pure lines to create the desired result. If one plant has good habit and poor flower and another has good flower and poor habit they can be cross fertilised so that resulting seed may produce plants with good habit and good flowers (the opposite may be true with all the worst features but they are weeded out in the F1 process). A pure strain of each parent is first selected by pollinating the best examples with themselves. When a good pure strain is achieved the resulting plants will be cross fertilized by hand to produce F1 seed. This is one reason F1 seed is more expensive than other hybrids.

Benefits of F1

…

Read More Read More

Cranesbill Geraniums

January 30, 2013 hortoris

The hardy perennial geranium is a good ground cover plant with many varieties to choose from. Many varieties are derivatives of Geranium sanguineum or Geranium cinereum. They all have seed heads that look hooked like a Crane’s bill hence the common name.
…

Read More Read More

Stonking Stinking Plants

January 29, 2013 hortoris

Stinkers are not the sort of plants you want to grow in a normal garden. So here are a few to avoid unless your adenoids stop you getting even the faintest whiff.

Proper Stinkers

Stinking Hellebore gives off the smell of rotting meat to earn the Latin name Helleborus foetidis and warn us that the plant is poisonous. It’s flowers native are beautiful but the whole plant niffs.
Stinking Henbane or Hyoscyamus niger has a sickly evil smell that Culpepper says’ the whole plant hath a very ill soderiferous smell’.
Stinking Meadow rue has a sticky covering on its leaves that also smell like dead fish
Stinkhorn fungus has putrid, spore-laden, phallus-like fruiting bodies that appear almost overnight and to many people it is ‘Top of the Pongs’.
Carnivorous plants attract flesh and fecal-loving insects to visit their stinking blossoms but they wonâ€™t attract me.
The Skunk Cabbage takes some beating as you may expect with a name like that aka Lysimachia punctata

All this without farmyard smells, rotting vegetation, over wet sour compost, garlic breath in the wrong place, animal waste, the list of pet hates is endless. Thankfully there are even more good smelling plants than bad so just watch how you sniff

Grow and Collect Euphorbia – The Spurges

January 28, 2013 hortoris

These acid green flowers provide a strong compliment to the bright greens of spring. This E. cyparissias will spread by root and through seed dispersal

With over 2000 species in the genera there are many types of Euphorbia from which to build an interesting collection. There are succulents, cacti and spurges from all continents. Try the tall woody thick leaved E. characias to the orange flowered E. griffithii ‘Fireglow’ or ‘Dixter’. That is not to ignore the most popular houseplant Euphorbia pulcherrima the Poinsettias but save those for Christmas.
…

Read More Read More

Top Ten Flowers and Fragrance

January 27, 2013 hortoris

It has been difficult to finalise a list of the top 10 fragrant plants. So I have elected to chose my ten favourite flowers with a selected variety. I have cheated by including two roses but could easily have 10 or 100 roses in a list.

Your personal choice will vary based on your own appreciation of scent. The result from flowers will depend on the location, culture and selections you make.

Philadelphus lemoinei ‘innocence’ Mock Orange single creamy white flowers
Hyacynth ‘Bismark’ porcelain blue
Wisteria sinensis the white form if you can find it
Honeysuckle Lonicera americanum with masses of rich spicy flowers
Regal Lily lilium regale
Datura inoxia another white form needing some protection
Dianthus barbatus Sweet Wlliam Dobies ‘All Double’
Old garden Gallica rose ‘Charles de Mills’ raspberry coloured.
Climbing Rose ‘Guinee’
Freesia ‘Gold Coast’, ‘Treasure’ or ‘White Giant’

…

Read More Read More

Tips for Growing Mini Vegetables

January 26, 2013 hortoris

Small fresh vegetables taste nice and often have a superior texture. The supermarket versions are expensive and often have lots of food miles attached to them so try growing your own.

Mini Veg Tips

You can plant them close together as they will be picked earlier, –
Harvest early and often, even small varieties will get bigger as they bage –
Choose seed that is appropriate look for baby, mini or patio in the title-
Turnip, fennel andkohl rabi can produce spindly roots if the soil is not kept moist
Carrot varieties to try include ‘Nantes’, ‘Amini’, ‘Mignon’, ‘Minicor’
Cut courgettes and squash when small at least 3 times per week, to increase yields.

…

Read More Read More

Dahlias in Limerick

January 25, 2013 hortoris

These are more than your Irish Dahlias. At 12″ high they are not just for the little people.

There was a young man from Australia

On his bottom he painted a Dahlia

The heat of it all

Caused the petals to fall

And the scent was a terrible failure

Single Dahlias for Bees & Butterflies

Star Wars a 12″ high and wide bush.
Pretty Woman Pink petals around a pink discette
Braveheart with bronze foliage.
See also Bishops Children

Other links and information on Pelargoniums

Growing Requirements for Cistus

Proper Stinkers

Single Dahlias for Bees & Butterflies