Browsed by
Author: hortoris

Cure Hellebore Problems

Cure Hellebore Problems

Hellebore sap can cause irritation to skin or an allergic reaction. No part of the plant should be eaten.
Pink & White Hellebore
Hellebores flower in winter or early spring from buds formed during the previous summer. They may benefit from some watering during a dry summer to encourage more buds.

Healthy Hellebores growing in well ventilated, damp but not waterlogged environments should not show any blackening on actively growing tissue.

Mosaic viruses known as ‘Hellebore black death’ is similar to tomato and cucumber mosaic viruses. Spots or streaks appear on the leaves and plants are stunted or die. There is no garden cure so dig up the plants and burn them – do not compost.

Hellebore leaf spot is caused by a fungus Coniothyrium hellebori. The hellebore gets irregular brown or black spots on the leaves and sometimes the flowers. This causes leaves to yellow and flowers to wilt. Buds often fail to open on infected plants

Cures for Hellebore Leaf Spot

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Yellow is a Garden Colour

Yellow is a Garden Colour

Yellow is a Yowser Colour

Yellow can be a difficult colour in the garden and I know of one keen gardener that tries to avoid all Yellow flowers. However this Potentilla or cinqufoil grabbed my attention hence the yowser headline. No wonder the Potentilla is also known as the Buttercup shrub as the strong yellow is reminiscent of the field buttercup.

From a pale cream through to a vibrant sulphur yellow there are numerous plants and trees that offer yellow delights. That excludes all the leaves, pollen, pistil and stamen.

No wonder Yellow is the chosen colour for the The Yellow Book, NGS Gardens to Visit 2016 now surprisingly renamed ‘NGS Gardens to Visit 2016’  – Yellow book from Amazon

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Orchid Tips and Photos

Orchid Tips and Photos

Orchids

I am going to Madeira for a sunny break before the gardening gets tougher. I hope to sample the orchids that grow on the islands and even bring home the occasional example.

Orchids

February and March are traditional months for UK based Orchid shows.
Look out for an exhibition or show near you. …

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Snow Damage

Snow Damage

Snow in February can be very wet and thus heavy. Powdery dry snow is not so much of a problem for plants although it may be if caused by extra cold snow.

hand-of-snow

Is it too late to worry about  damage to your favourite plants when the snow has already arrived?  This Fatsia japonica has survived several years in our back garden probably because the winters haven’t been too harsh and the soil is well drained. It is part of our low maintenance section where shrubs provide colour, shape and texture without needing too much attention.

Tips in Snow

  • Knock off the snow from small conifers before branches are bent out of shape. I use a long cane so I don’t get wet and avoid collateral damage.
  • Tie up plants so the weight of snow can’t damage young outer growth.
  • Wet snow is heavy and can break off even sturdy branches. If you get breakages cut back to a sensible point eg near the stem or trunk.

Snow Damage to Equipment

  • If you salt paths don’t let run off get onto the garden.
  • Sweep the worst of snow off any aluminium framed greenhouse to avoid damage under the weight.
  • Do not leave tools out in the snow

white-greenhouse

Snow Damage to Lawns

  • Just because there is snow covering a lawn do not think you can walk on it without damaging the grass.
  • After a quick thaw it takes time for the water to drain away. Snow on top of frosty ground takes even longer.
  • If you must have a snowman try position it on hard-standing not the lawn.
Floral Vistas Plan Before Planting

Floral Vistas Plan Before Planting

floral vista

Greenery is all very well but I like to see swathes of colourful flowers.
I try to envisage how mixed planting will shape up in terms of colour but generally my minds eye falls short when it comes to the imagination department.
The best tip is to keep it simple with only a very limited number of varieties chosen because they are due to flower around the same time.

By contrast my wife, on the other hand, is wedded to green leafed houseplants, green conservatory plants and even green outdoors. (She is also wedded to me and I am not as green as I am cabbage looking so at least I get some colour into the garden)
Perhaps she should grow Gloxinia
Meadow

I do not mind seeing my colour in wild meadows or just as yellow in a field of buttercups. This photo looks like a pointillist painting rather than a snap shot but it was planned by RHS gardeners to look something like this when the ground was laid out.

A friend at our village gardeners club insists she only grows flowers that avoid yellow – I guess she thinks it too garish and she misses out on some grand flowers.

Snowdrop park

Woodland walks in Spring would not be the same if it wasn’t for the Snowdrops, Aconites and Narcissus.
Even wild garlic is better when you can see the white flower.
Is white really a colour some folk ask – to me a resounding yes, just consider a rainbow.

White Flowers and Features in the Garden

White Flowers and Features in the Garden

Colour bed

White is the second most useful colour in the garden after green. I am progressively increasing the number and variety of white and grey plants that I grow.

White Flowers

  • Roses are a current favourite and there are white Species Roses that are worth seeking out. Rosa: arvensis, banksiae, fedtscenkoana, helenae, longcuspis and multiflora just as examples.
  • The early flowers of Snowdrops and the Christmas Rose Heleboris niger start the flowering year.
  • Camellia japonica Nobilissima and Tulip Purissima are pure spring whites .
  • Personally I like Cistus Corbariensis and Malva moschata Alba to contrast with green leaves and pink stamen.

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Snowdrop Tips and Locations

Snowdrop Tips and Locations

Snowdrops are officially called Galanthus. This snowdrop is Galanthus elwessii with larger than normal blooms and a honey scent the other main species are Nivalis and Plicatus. The snowdrop is very hardy, grows in most soils and prefers partial shade.

Gardeners Snowdrop Tips

  • Other AGM snowdrops include Galanthus nivalis and the double flowered version pleniflorus ‘Flora Pleno.’
  • For late flowering Galanthus there is a bell shaped flower Diggory or David Shakelton, Ikariae or Hill Poe
  • One of the earliest flowering is called Atkinsii.
  • For double varieties there is Lady Elphinstone, Nivalis  Flore Peno,  Hill Poe and Mrs Thompson.
  • Reginae-olgae can prove tricky to cultivate and seems to appreciate a drier and sunnier spot than but it is autumn flowering
  • There are some 75 species of snowdrop and many more cultivars and hybrids. Well worth making a collection of your favourites.

Cultivation

  • Snowdrop bulbs should not be allowed to dry out or they die.
  • Plant  with green leaves shortly after flowering no later than mid summer as they go dormant.
  • You can do worse that scrounge off neighbors when they split clumps as snowdrops spread quite effectively.
  • Snowdrops do not come true to seed except species but you can propagate by twin scaling.

The process was originally developed for narcissus, but works well with galanthus producing 10-30 new bulbs from one old one.

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Patterns from Alpine Plants

Patterns from Alpine Plants

Art can be found in many situations and you don’t need to look too far in the alpine house.

See my many magnified, magnificent and magical mushrooms and alpines for startling patterns.

pattern

Getting up close and personal is one of the main ways to enjoy Alpine plants and succulent species.

Houseleeks seem to grow for the sake of making patterns from Hens and Chickens through to this rapidly reproduced colour scheme.  Other images on Google
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Rhodohypoxis for Massed Flowers

Rhodohypoxis for Massed Flowers

Tale Valley nursery hold a national collection of these floriferous plants.

Rhodohypoxis

For a short intensely coloured alpine or pot raised plant there is little to touch Rhodohypoxis. The flowers are thick and wax-like white or shades of pink to purple. Interesting doubles are now being bred such as ‘Lilly Jean’,  ‘Hope’ or ‘Kiwi Joy’.
Rhodohypoxis grows to 2″ in height although Rhodohypoxis deflexa only reaches 1″ or less depending on position in your garden and Rhodohypoxis ‘Tetra White’ can be 4″ tall.

Cultivation Tips

Regular dead-heading of the spent flowers helps to improve flowering performance.
Grown in plastic or terracotta pots, they are best re-potted every year.
Add a high potash slow release fertilizer into the compost at potting time.
Compost should be relatively free draining by adding from 30%+ grit to the growing media
Around May the first lance-shaped leaf growth appears. They are quite short and form a spikey matting until covered in flowers for the rest of summer.

Watering and Feeding

Rhodohypoxis will happily withstand freezing cold provided the plants are kept almost dry through winter.
Their chances of survival outdoors can be enhanced by placing a pane of glass over the top of them during their dormant period.
‘Containerised plants require plenty of moisture in the spring and summer which is reduced as the leaves start to die down in August to October depending on the variety.’
Provide a liquid feed to build up the, small corm like, root stock during the growing period.
Trim off dead foliage and store corms through winter in a cool environment.
Propagate by division when dormant.

Rhodohypoxis

Species

Rhodohypoxis baurii
White flowers with shorter but wider leaves.
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Making A Rock Garden or Rockery

Making A Rock Garden or Rockery

A rock garden is a grand place to display your alpine plants. You can shade them with rocks, provide deep root runs and provide rain cover with perspex roofs
rockery

In Alpine conditions plants can shelter behind rocks that give them protection from wind and rain and help with drainage. Try to give your plants similar conditions to there original habitat and they will repay you for your attention to detail.

Tips for Making a Rock Garden

  • A rock garden should be open and unshaded by over hanging trees
  • There should be a slope either natural or built up. This allows plants on the North facing slope to receive 25% of the sun (and heat) of those on the South slope so those delicate plants don’t fry.
  • Study the prevailing wind so you know where most rain will fall and plant the rain shadow area with plants that need to stay dry.
  • If in doubt about drainage improve it by adding grit. If the soil is clay, a pile of brick rubble 15 inches below the surface will aid drainage no-end.
  • The soil can be average soil but will not need extra nutrients or fertilizer except for special situations. Pack all crevices tightly with soil to prevent unwanted pests like mice.
  • Plan your rock positions and lay the grain or style of rock all in the same direction. Do not mix rock types or the harmonious effect can be lost.
  • Do not plant higgledy piggeldy but select plants that fit into a simple plan. Keep slow growing plants needing similar conditions together. Consider haveing zones in the rockery for different plant requirements.
  • Mulch new plants with pea gravel

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