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Month: January 2012

Euphorbia rigida in a Succulent Garden

Euphorbia rigida in a Succulent Garden

Euphorbia rigidia

How to Recognise Euphorbia rigida

Euphorbia rigida is a choice evergreen Euphorbia with blue/green fleshy leaves arranged in spiralled whorls around the stem. It has a lax habit with several stems up to 2 feet long.
The flower buds are pink opening to an acid yellow in spring or early summer. This specimen was photographed in the new alpine house at the RHS garden Harlow Carr.
Euphoriba rigida

Euphorbia rigida Cultivation Tips

Euphorbia rigida prefers light, well-drained soil in full sun, but tolerates a wide variety of habitats.
Beth Chatto grows them in her ‘Dry Garden’ near Colchester.
Propagate from seed or by stem cuttings but let the cut surface to callous over before planting.
Euphorbia collections can be created to display a wide variety of textures and architectural features.
Euphorbia rigida blooms more reliably in poor soil.

Euphorbia rigida

Read more about top ten Euphorbia
Many plants are sold under the name Euphorbia rigida but all should have this spiky sort of appearance to the leaf.

Book Cover

Credits
Two images of Euphorbia rigida by Kew CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Tree Leaf Design, Shape and Function

Tree Leaf Design, Shape and Function

Leaves Autumn 065

Leaves are the food factories of trees converting light into food via photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is absorbed by leaves and converted using chlorophyll and water into carbohydrates or tree food. Oxygen is a bi-product of photosynthesis.
Tree trunks and branches of trees are designed to get the canopy of leaves in a position to receive the optimum amount of light.

Common Leaf Shapes

You Can Tell a Tree By it’s Leaf

  • Trees are classified by their leaf in that evergreen trees keep their leaves all year around whilst deciduous trees shed their leaves annually usually in autumn.
  • Various leaves are described by their shape. The names created often have some reference to the shape Ovate leaves bear a resemblance to egg shaped and Lanceloate to a lance or spear.
  • The bottom half of the leaf where it attaches to the tree twig or branch can also have distinguishing features as shown above.
  • Leaf colour varies from yellow to coppery red but the majority of leaves are a form of green.

Leaves

Leaf Texture and Margin

  • This infographic looks at the edge of the leaf or ‘margin’.
  • Serrations are known as toothed whilst smooth edges are known as ‘entire’.
  • Ciliate leaves have hairs, eye lashes or short spines whilst pectinate has spiky edges
  • Texture can be another distinguishing features when trying to identify a tree from its leaves. Rough, leathery, fine, smooth, hairy, glossy, spiky etc each tree leaf has its own characteristic.
  • The underside of the leaf may have a different colouring

barrow Leaves

Other Leaf Issues

  • The above infographic includes more leaf shapes but shows how leaves are arranged on a stem.
  • Bipinnate has sets of pinnate leaves opposite each other.
  • Petiole is the leaves mini stem that attaches a leaf to the node or axil.
  • Trifoliate has three leaves at the end of a leaf stalk or petiole
  • The size and shape of the leaf can be affected by the position and age of the tree and where the leaf is growing.
  • Conifers often have needles which are flat or rounded individual or clustered. Alternatively they may have frondy fern like leaves

Notes
Composted and rotted tree leaves do not have much nutritional value. All the food has been given to the tree.
Composted leaves add humus and improve the texture of your soil.
‘Tree Root and Branch Reviews’ in our category section give some description of individual tree leaves

Credits
The Oxford book of Trees – B E Nicholson & A R Clapham
Hilliers Manual of Trees and Shrubs – H G Hillier
Ultimate Guide to Trees – Jenny Linford
Botany of leaves
Special and Extraordinary Leaves

Quick-Fix Garden Spring Clean

Quick-Fix Garden Spring Clean

Some time spent maintaining the general appearance of your garden can be worthwhile at any time of the year. A clean tidy garden will put the focus on the plants and design of your garden rather that the bits that are out of place. Do not let the untidy catch the eye.

In early spring you get a good view of any structural problems and can correct any damage and untidy appearance caused in winter  whilst giving your hard landscape areas a bit of spit and polish.

A Bit of Timely Maintenance

  • Clean up areas that lead into the garden – steps, porch, paths and driveways.
  • Tidy paths and roads around the outside of the garden.
  • Tidy up the garage, car-port, greenhouse and garden shed.
  • Sweep and wash-down the driveway. Clean garden furniture.
  • Clear up overgrown paths, collect up old canes and prune back overhanging shrubs.
  • Repair broken fencing. Apply wood preserver where needed.
  • Tidy ragged edgings to make walkways and the driveway look smart.
  • Spray any weeds pushing up through gravel or tarmac.
  • If part of the garden is given over to pebbles, clean up the organic bits and pieces that work their way in between them.
  • Pick up litter and weeds from public paths around your garden edge.
  • Remove algae and slime from paths with a cleaners or pressure wash.
  • Mulch can cover a multitude of unsightly problems. Peat substitutes, bark or gravel can provide a face lift.
  • Gleaming windows give a house that groomed look. Brush down the cobwebs around the window frames and wash the paint work.

Organic Face Lift

  • Weed borders and garden beds. It’s easier to do just after rain when the ground is softer and the weeds come out easily, root and all.
  • Replace dead plants in empty beds and borders they are a sign of neglect. Hoe and rake the soil if you are waiting for new stock.
  • Rake the lawn to remove leaf-litter, twigs and other green debris.
  • Mow, weed and feed the lawn. Trim the edges neatly.
  • If you’ve let pot-plants die plant some ready grown annuals or herbs from a garden center.
  • Cut back tree-branches overhanging the driveway, paths and lawn area to make the garden look spacious and open.
  • Prune shrubs, dead stalks and stems. Make sure the shears are clean and sharp, it will make things easier for you and the plants.
  • Deadhead flowers and clear up any dead petals and flower-heads
  • Mulch makes plants stand out and is good for them . Invest in mulch for an instant makeover.

 


Product Reports
Path Cleaning and Cleaners
Garden Disinfectants
Best Weed Killers
Wood Care
Fence Care

Lotus to Brighten Your Winter

Lotus to Brighten Your Winter

Lotus

It is a cold winter morning in the north of England and thoughts of sunny flowers from warmer climes are all that keep me from thinking of snow and frost.
Having just discovered the mosaic picture collages of Robynejay I thought it worth considering the Lotus. Nelumbo nucifera is also called Indian Lotus, Sacred Lotus or Bean of India they are aquatic plants but they are not water lilies.

About Lotus

  • The Lotus is native to India, Australia and tropical Asia.
  • The plant has many religious connotations and is seen as sacred to Hindus and Buddhists.
  • The seed heads are round and distinctive.
  • The lotus is distantly related to Nymphaea caerulea the water lily.
  • The flower heads are held above the water on strong stalks or stems.
  • The range of flower colouring and petal formats is demonstrated in the montage or mosaic above.
  • The seeds from the distinctive pod are edible.

Well this bright colourful flower has brightened up my morning. Now I must get out in the frost and put out some bird food.

Lotus

Credit
Lotus by robynejay CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Lotus by _Virdi_ CC BY 2.0
Getting butterflies in a garden

Abutilon Hybrids and Abutilon Vitifolium

Abutilon Hybrids and Abutilon Vitifolium

Abutilon

This Abutilon is virtually an evergreen keeping most of its leaves through a mild winter. The June and early summer flowers are numerous and white, deep blue or like this a paler mauve. There are 150 species of Abutilon with common names including, Chinese Bell Flower, Chinese Lantern, Mallow, Indian Mallow, and Flowering Maple.

This tree is at its maximum around 18 feet tall and has three main stems naturally branching out from about a foot high. The grey-green leaves contrast with the purple Cotinus coggygria Royal Purple in the picture.

This winter I lost one specimen that was in the most sheltered spot but I had pruned it a bit hard. Several others survived and are flowering very well at the moment. All were grown from seed and flowered in the second and subsequent years creating a talking point as people walk past in deed I have given away numerous seeds which are produced prolifically and retained on the tree in spiky circular pods.

  • The flowers are said to be edible in a salad
  • Grow new plants from seed in September in case you loose a plant.
  • Treat like a medium lived shrub but go easy on the pruning
  • Watch out for free seeds from the RHS distribution scheme

Abutilon hybrid

Other forms of Abutilon include the vareagated hybrid above. You can also buy seeds to grow Abutilon as indoor flowering house plant. The compact, dwarf plants of Abutilon Bella Mixed have large, showy 3 inch bell-shaped flowers and multi-lobed leaves resembling a maple tree.

Tulip Mad or Mania a Tulip Miscellany

Tulip Mad or Mania a Tulip Miscellany

lily-tulip2

At times I think I have had ‘ Tulip Mania’ this Spring with the number of Tulip posts and pictures I have produced. This year has been an exceptional year and the Tulips in my garden have gone mad themselves with the showy flowers and seemingly infinate variety. The weather must have been kind and clement, the same as the gardener.

This Lily  Flowered Tulip is called ‘Queen of Sheba’ and was bought from Parkers 3 years ago. Some of the stock has been lost but I do not dig them up and store them as they are grown just for use as cut flowers.

I am going to dig up the large pots of tulips I planted in the border last November and allow them to die back naturally. The buried pot method helped to contain and frame the tulips and I think it was a success. I will be interested to see if there was enough nutrients available to help get new flowers for next Spring or have I starved them into submission.

Other Lily Tulips I Like

  • China Pink a uniform flower with a white base and pink petals.
  • Ballerina the best orange I have seen
  • White Triumphator with reflexing petals
  • For showy I have been recommended Marylin 9white with red stripe) and Ballade looking like Vimto (purple with a white froth)

It looks like I have blown it for a good while now, or at least until I start thumbing through the bulb catalogues for next year.

blown-it

Variety is the Spice of Tulips

    There are tulips of many varieties and families to suit all occasions. Early, mid season and late flowering types are available such as Triumph, Darwin Hybrids, Lily flowered and Fosteriana hybrids but below are some special types or forms worth consideration.

    • Crispa the fringed Tulips look like they sound with lace like fringes on the petals. Try ‘Blue Heron’ (really a two tone purple) or the shorter, white ‘Swans Wings’
    • Parrot Tulips have deeply feathered, curled, or twisted, single or multi-coloured petals. Many varieties have a green spot at the base of their petals. Some Parrot tulips are sensitive to poor weather and should be planted in a protected spot.
    • Multi-flowered tulips are gaining in popularity with 3 -6 flowers on each stem. The bi-colours ‘Spectabile’ and ‘Georgette’ appeal to me.
    • Double Paeony Flowered tulips are on my list for next spring. I will put half in a cold greenhouse for cutting and use the rest for bedding. ‘Miranda’ a double Darwin hybrid will be on the list with one of the Dutch bi-colours.
    • Green petaled Viriflora tulips have vertical stripes of green on the petals that are otherwise coloured reds and yellows. ‘Esperanto’ a red with green also has striking white edged leaves.
    • Triumph Tulips produce cup-shaped flowers on strong, medium-length stems. Average plant height is 10 to 16 inches. This is the largest class of tulips and offers the widest range of flower colors. Triumph tulips are excellent for forcing.
    Botanical Tulips and Rock Gardens
    Given time to establish themselves botanical tulips can give an outstanding perennial display in the rock garden or rockery.
    • Tulip species also known as botanical tulips are natives of Turkey and Asia. Humilis varieties open in a wide star shape like a large crocus. T.Clusiana tend to be yellow bicoloured with red and flower march- April. T. Baalini has pale lemon flowers.
    • Greigii Tulips are noted for their brightly-coloured flowers and purple striped or mottled foliage. Plant height varies around 8 inches so stature Greigii tulips are excellent choices for borders or rock gardens. They also colonise well.
    • Kaufmanniana Tulips are long-lived perennial tulips. In sunlight, the flowers open fully. The open flowers resemble a star or water lily. Flower colours include white, yellow, pink, and intermediary colours. The foliage is bluish green or chocolate brown striped.

Other Tulip Tips

    • For a great display plant the bulbs in a round basket or container that will delineate the area where they will grow and make lifting easy. This spring I saw a great display of circles of tulips in tight formation one colour to a patch.
    • Botanical tulips don’t like competition so plant where the leaves won’t get covered by other plants.
    • Leave leaves until they become brown and the goodness has gone back into the bulb
    • Lift hybrid tulips in early summer and replant in November.
    • Plant 6 inches deep or a bit more if the soil is thin and sandy.
    • If you can’t bear to cut you prize tulips for the house buy your partner a bunch from a florist.
    Tulip Fire and Tulip Aphids
    • Rotting bulbs may be due to tulip fire. Destroy all infected bulbs. Avoid high nitrogen fertiliser.
    • Before planting or putting into store soak in Bio supercarb ‘carbendazim and allow to dry
    • Tulip aphids colonise bulbs in store including gladioli and crocus as well as tulips.
    • Remove aphids by hand
    • Treat before storing with Sybol
    • Tulip grey bulb rot causes bulbs to fail to emerge above ground, or produce severely distorted shoots which then wither and die off. Bulbs turn grey and dry as they rot away to leave only the roots and basal plate. Caused by a fungus that can persist in the soil so burn bulbs and don’t replant for 5 years

November is a good time to plant Tulips so you still have time to order and buy some more new bulbs. It seems to be a new marketing ploy to sell two or more types of Bulbs together so gardeners can pre-ordained the effects they wish to achieve.
These orange and purple Tulips looked blown but attractive in late May this year at Harlow Carr Gardens.

Tips for Twin Tulips

  • Check with your supplier that different bulbs will flower at the same time or the effect will be lost.
  • Bulbs from the same series are more likely to flower at the same time as that is how they have been bred.
  • Select your own mix of varieties from a good and informative bulb catalogue (or you will end up with pot luck as I do.)
  • Plant at the same depth (at least twice the bulbs width) or the depth may affect the flowering time.

I am looking at planting ‘Purple Passion’ a blend from Thompson-Morgan one of our sponsors.

Mahonia the Attractive Spiky Shrub

Mahonia the Attractive Spiky Shrub

Scented winter blossom attractive to early bees. Dark berries attractive to birds and sharp prickles unattractive to trespassers are just three of the reasons to grow Mahonia.

Flowering early this year this spiky shrub is renown for its winter blossom. On a still winters day the yellow flowers give off a delicate scent.

What You need to know about Mahonia

  • Growing to around 4 foot these evergreen shrubs give all year around interest.
  • I grow mine in an acid soil with Rhododendrons but they seem happy in all soils.
  • The spiky leaves make them a deterrent to intruders when planted in a mixed hedge
  • There are several varieties so try see your purchase in bloom.
  • The stems do not have spines but the leaves make up for this.
  • After flowering there are black berries loved by our local birds.

Mahonia leaves
see Early blossom on shrubs

Mahonia

Names and Named Varieties

Mahonia Japonica and Mahonia aquifolium are species to watchout for.
Mahonia nervosa is a low growing species, Creeping Oregon grape is called Mahonia repens.
The berries give rise to the name ‘Oregon Grape’ for the Mahonia
Mahonia Oregan Grape

John Cushnie 1943-2009

John Cushnie 1943-2009

John Cushnie 1943-2009

John Cushnie the landscape gardener, author and radio pundit has died suddenly from a heart attack on 31 December 2009 at the age of 66.

For the last 17 years John was a regular panelist on Gardeners’ Question Time, the Hedge Man on Radio 2’s Chris Evans Show, and presented Greenmount Garden for BBC One in Northern Ireland. He always used his quick wit when offering tips and guidance to his audiences. As a feature writer with the Daily Telegraph he has a list of New Years Resolutions in the paper that were printed before news of his untimely death was available.

An experienced landscape gardener, who ran his own business, Mark Damazer controller at the BBC Radio 4 said “John Cushnie was a towering figure on Gardeners’ Question Time,” “His trademark acerbic wit was deployed with terrific timing against a wide variety of plants he did not like – and it was always done with an affectionate twinkle in his eye, with an exuberance of voice and with unrelenting sympathy for fellow gardeners.”

John Cushnie Landscapes web site focuses cleverly on ‘About You’ and has useful information for those considering landscape changes. As a good employer in Northern Ireland we hope the business continues in John’s name.
John Cushnie also wrote for the Belfast News Letter, Gardens Illustrated magazine, Gardeners World magazine, Amateur Gardening, Ireland’s Homes Interiors and Living magazine and several books.

Book Cover

Book Cover

Top 100 Gardeners John Cushnie