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Month: July 2019

Gardeners Against Deforestation

Gardeners Against Deforestation

It is not only in the Amazon rainforest that excessive deforestation is taking place. Africa is suffering as well! According to an educational charity the ‘deforestation in the Gambia is dreadful, many of the largest trees have been sold to China! Lots of protests but nothing seems to be done about it.’
‘A British charity the Gambian Schools trust is helping schools in the Gambia to counter this deforestation and teaching an awareness of beneficial fruit trees. They have encouraged school children who have planted about 200 mango, mandarin orange, avocado, flame trees, tamarind, banana, palm,  and pomegranate. The largest number were Pomegranate which do not grow in the rural east of the country, they introduced them to our schools and together they have propagated about 120 from seeds. Hopefully they will fruit next year and any excess fruit can be sold at market to supplement school funds.’
The photographs are from the summer 2019 activities at the Gambian Schools trust locations.
Mango planting
A government minister  has said ‘the Gambia is endowed with a wide range of forest and woodland ecosystems which include gallery forest, closed and open woodlands, trees and shrub savanna, mangrove, riparian and fringing savanna ecosystems…… constituting 43% of her land area and that the country’s resources provide an important basis for economic and social development, directly affecting the livelihood of the majority of the populations.’
Banana planting
Back at home we gardeners should bear in mind the areas in the world where horticulture and related activities are crucial to survival. We can help via education and practical support.
2019 Snapdragons (the year not the number)

2019 Snapdragons (the year not the number)

I have previously posted about snapdragons in 2011, 2016 and  2015

This is just an update on one of my favourite little cottage garden treasures. This years winners have been a 3’6″ tall, white F1 variety and the multi coloured swap shop warm coloured variety shown. Add to this some self-sown plants or last year survivors and a good show has been delivered.

This encouraged me to sow some mixed seeds early to be over wintered. I kept half a packet back to be sown in spring in case I loose all my early sowing. Germination has been fast and furious. As this variety are said to be rust free I hope for more cottage garden blooms next summer.

 

Comments made about Overwintering

Comments made about Overwintering

Irena Dorney a reader of my chrysanthemum post has asked ‘ Tell me do you overwinter your plants? I can no longer afford to keep buying new plants for my planters so I want to invest in plants with a perennial habit that will work hard in my raised bed.’

Overwintering Generally

  • I am a Yorkshire man so yes I try to over winter many of my plants. I want value for money and the thrill of getting or keeping ‘summat for nowt’.
  • A major proportion of my garden is planted with evergreen shrubs and they overwinter themselves.
  • Alpines are generally designed for cold wintery weather but HATE  wet so I don’t worry about frost but will shield or deflect rain from auriculas and damp haters.
  • Bulbs I leave in the ground or pots but take up begonias and dahlia tubers and keep them frost free for planting the following year.
  • You can forget about your tender annuals but the seeds are worth collecting. You then overwinter them as seeds or biannuals.

Overwintering Planters

  • Selecting ‘hardy’ plants that are more likely to survive to survive is a skill worth learning. Violas will last better than pansies for example and dwarf conifers and acers do well in my pots.
  • One of the biggest risks to plants in pots is death by frozen roots. A big pot holds more soil and is harder but not impossible to freeze.
  • I gather pots together for wind and frost protection. A group of pots can create there own micro climate.
  • Under a hedge row I store many pot plants where I am fatalistic. If they survive great if not then c’est la vie & I try to propagate more.

Overwintering in a Raised Bed

  • Selecting herbaceous perennials can fill your raised beds. Herbaceous plants die back every year when the weather gets cold but the right ones regrow next year. If the winter conditions are harsh then mulch around the root area. Delphiniums, alstromeria and primroses have done well this year.
  • Tender subjects like musa (banana) or ferns can be wrapped in hessian or covered in straw but that is too much bother for me.
  • I grow rhododendrons and deciduous azaleas in a raised bed for the want of a larger area. Like many woody shrubs they do fine.

Hybrid Tea and the Family Tree

Hybrid Tea and the Family Tree

First introduced in the 19th century the lineage of Hybrid Tea roses goes back to crossing or hybridising a tea rose with a hybrid perpetual rose. The first example was supposedly ‘Madame Bravy’ x ‘Madame Victor Verdier’ but many more have followed to great acclaim. One such was a rose called ‘Peace’ which has sold, under several marketing names, over 100 million plants world wide.

Hybrid Tea roses like this example of Brasilia are a group of roses that are crosses between one rose and another. In this case Piccadilly x Perfecta produced this Brasilia flower with scarlet petals reversed in pale gold.  The grandparents were  McGredy’s Yellow × Karl Herbst and Golden Scepter x Karl Herbst respectively. With 2 grandparents the same it shows how complex cross breeding became during the heyday of new rose introductions.

Another flower with reverse colour on the petals was Caramba with cherry red petals reversed with silver. It also has very dark glossy leaves. The parentage of this specimen is unknown! The name has also been sub-sumed by a ground cover rose with far less appeal.

Enemies of Roses That Affect You

Enemies of Roses That Affect You

I do not want to start by worrying you but I am probably going too anyway! After an early summer of brilliant rose displays the down side is the number and volume of enemies our roses are having to contend with.

This is Nothing New

  • I am borrowing heavily from the National Rose Society publications including the title of this post ‘The Enemies of the Rose.’
  • The national rose society’s handbook on the insect, pests and fungus  of the rose was first published in 1908 – over a century ago.
  • My copy is the third edition from 1952. I can’t find a more recent edition nor current reprints. Old copies surface at secondhand booksellers and are crammed with over 150 pages of problems.
  • For example the contents include a virtual dozen references to a variety of different Sawfly but I get ahead of myself.
  • The evils of modern publishing have created a digitised Kindle 2012 edition (? scanned?) and it may be worth the 99p down load but it seems at variance to the older books.
  • The collective brains of an Entomologist, Zoologistand an expert in Cryptogams have been combined with 110 years of horticulture experience and specialist knowledge.

Picking Out Some Rose Enemies

  • I will not try to paraphrase or emulate the original record but will pick out bits worth further exploration.
  • Fungi and bacteria are classified as ‘Diseases’ and insects and sundry creatures as ‘Pests’.
  • Sadly developments over time plus health and safety worries have made many of the cures, potions, treatments, unctions, chemical controls and interventions illegal, outdated or unobtainable.
  • I am not sure whether Defra, European Union and sundry Ministries such as Agriculture  should be classed as ‘The Enemies of the Rose.’
  • Bad health in what ever form is potentially just a sign of a rose failing to achieve the growers ideals and aspirations.
  • Setting standards is essential but being able to cope with the consequences of weather, breeding, growing conditions and external influences can all be enemies of roses.
    • Pests include: thrips, aphids, leaf-hopper, caterpillar, rose maggots, chafer, leaf miner, sawfly, leaf cutter, gall wasps, ants, mites and other maggots and bugs.
    • Diseases include: black spot, rust, mildew, leaf scorch, anthracnose, cancker & die back, botrytis (grey mould), gall, silver leaf, chlorosis, sooty mould and variations on the virus and fungus themes.

Another digitised version  .  The Enemies of the Rose by George Massee Frederick Vincent 1868- Theobald National Rose Society (Creator) …

Read More Read More

A Raspberry to Virus

A Raspberry to Virus

A virus has struck my favourite raspberries and the leaves have gone mottled. The light lemon green could have been a sign of magnesium deficiency but that turns out to be wishful thinking on my part. One variety partially effected last year is now in full denial and full of virus (its not just raspberry flu either.)
As can be seen below full symptoms of my raspberry virus are obvious.

  • Browned off leaves
  • Stunted cane growth
  • Minimal fruiting and small berries to boot.
  • Dead or dying plants getting ready to infect other near by plants.

I originally planted 3 varieties at the same time from a fruit tree specialist. ‘Glen Moy’ (Early season summer fruiting) – produced an abundance of firm, medium sized fruits from June to July on virtually spine-free canes, which made harvesting a pleasure (and jam eating ed.)

Raspberry ‘Glen Ample’ (Mid season summer fruiting) gave larger berries and some new canes a fair distance from the parent.

Tulameen was a wash out and most canes died. The supplier replaced them without any fuss but the cropping has remained below par. Not what I hoped for or expected but now I am worried about all my chosen varieties catching the virus.

Raspberry Nutrition

 

Schefflera Indoor Umbrellas

Schefflera Indoor Umbrellas


 Schefflera arboricola, known as the “dwarf umbrella tree,” has small green leaflets attached to stout petioles. Indoors it will have a mature height of 3 to 4 feet.

Schefflera arebold  make good individual plants as indoor specimens in large decorative containers. The palmate leaves have 5 to 9 finger leaves from a central stalk.

Schefflera actinophylla can grow to heights of 8 to 10 feet inside and up to 40 feet outside in very warm climates. As well as being called the ‘octopus plant’ it also shares the common name of umbrella plant. For a 4th name it is sometimes botanically named Brassiaia actinophylla.

Where to Grow Schefflera Indoor Umbrellas

  • To keep the umbrella tree happy reasonable warmth of 15-20 degrees C is best.
  • Through winter the temperature should be at least 10-13 degrees C
  • A lightly shaded location is best. Bi-coloured leaves look best with some sun.
  • Avoid very sunny or dark locations.
  • Use a robust potting mix containing some loam to feed the plant for a number of years. Fertilise in summer during growth.
  • The larger the plant the more water it needs.
Black Aphids on my Dahlias

Black Aphids on my Dahlias

These little breeders have been having a banquet on some of my Dahlias. They go for the soft new shoots and nascent flower stems which must be easy to get their teeth into. For some reason they have been quite selective on the plants they choose (As has been the spray I have used in a prophylactic manner). I hope the rest of the summer is black fly free but you never know.

Why are Black Fly Bad News

  • Black fly aphids or thrips are common sap-sucking insects. 
  • They are unsightly and look like they can do serious damage to plants.
  • As sap sucking insects they can create a lack of vigour and damage growth.
  • Insect secretions can go mouldy and add further problems to the dahlias
  • In severe cases viruses can be transferred to plants by these insects.

Lulled into a false sense of security by the low level of greenfly around my garden I wasn’t expecting black fly. I only left my dahlias alone for a few days and the flies multiplied like rabbits. I am on a more frequent look out patrol now. The muggy weather is one reason for the outbreak of black fly.

Reviving Parched Indoor Plants

Reviving Parched Indoor Plants

Dried out plants can become distressed and look to be in terminal decline through lack of water. They may wilt and the leaves drop off or go crispy.

Tips to Revive Dried Out Plants.

  • Getting water to the roots of the plant will provide a chance of reversing the dehydration.
  • It may pay to loosen the soil at the top of the pot so the water can permeate to the roots.
  • Soak the pot in a bucket of water up to the rim of the pot. Leave it to soak through, it will take longer on a large pot.
  • If the plant is really parched spray the leaves with tepid water.
  • Place a saucer under the plant to catch excess water. I use ‘clay granules in the saucer to help create humidity.
  • It may need drastic surgery on badly dried up stems and leaves. A little judicious pruning may relieve the need for the plant to repair all the damage at once.

Other Related Care Issues

  • Move plants away from fierce sunshine. Keep them away from windows or with some shade while they recover.
  • Do not leave plants in a draft which leeches moisture from your plant.
  • Pots that are full of roots are hard tpo water – where can the moisture be retained  if the roots are in the way. Repot into a bigger pot with fresh soil.
  • Take cuttings to rejuvenate a plant and be satisfied with a smaller offspring for a while.
  • Put grit or a inorganic mulch on the top of your pot.
  • Always consider the type of plant and the sort of watering regime needed. Both these African violets and Orchids need great care and to be allowed to drain after watering.
  • Some plants die and there will be nothing much you can do but try again.